The Dark Lord's Son
by anonwriter64
Summary: When an eight-year-old Harry Potter is bitten by a vampire, he is sent to an orphanage by his uncaring relatives. He struggles with these new urges and he cracks under the pressure. When Tom Riddle has attained a new body, he decides to make a visit to the orphanage he was raised in. During this visit, he can't help but notice a child with a lightning bolt scar and crimson eyes.
1. 1 - Turning

**May, 1985. Harry is five years old.**

"What do you think about those Dursleys?" Adelina asked her husband, her words lilting with a slight accent. She looked at Luca lovingly but questioningly.

Luca smiled, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of what his wife was suggesting. "Disgusting, absolutely disgusting," He started, "What do you think, draga mea?"

"I have to say that I," Adelina started, pausing for a moment to move the blinds of her window out of the way so she could look over at Number 4, Privet Drive before continuing, "Come here, Luca."

Luca furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over at his wife, who had confusion written on her face. Very rarely was she ever surprised by anything, much less something on a plain suburb street. "What is it, my love?"

She spoke more forcefully this time, "Come here, Luca. This is... an interesting development, to say the least."

Luca moved quickly, not wanting to miss whatever his wife was looking at. He raised the blinds out of his view to see what his wife was looking at and gave a sharp intake of breath. "Is that...?"

"I'm not sure, definitely peculiar to say the least. I would imagine we would have noticed this sooner..." Adelina's voice trailed off as she looked over at the subject of her interest.

Adelina jumped a little bit as her husband's sudden movements jerked a chair over and sent it toppling onto the ground with a loud bang. Her eyes darted towards Luca and asked, "What's gotten into you?"

"Do you not smell it?" Luca growled out, looking as if he was struggling immensely with something. Adelina's eyes narrowed as she stood up, prepared to stop her husband at all costs.

She scowled harshly, "Of course I smell it! I know you want revenge but you can't lash out like this! We need to get a better look before we do anything else, ok?"

His breathing began shaking as he attempted to calm himself down. "Let's go then, right now."

Adelina nodded sharply, following her husband as he darted out of the house at an inhuman speed and ran down the street, following the subject of their interest, a young wizard by the name of Harry James Potter.

"Don't come back until tomorrow," His Aunt Petunia scolded him. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away until tomorrow morning."

Harry Potter stood in front of his aunt, surprisingly calm considering he had just been slapped, staring unflinchingly at her. He turned on his heel and stormed out, ignoring the muttering of 'freak' before the loud bang of the door slamming behind him.

To any other neighbour at Privet Drive, Harry Potter was a sort of mystery. They knew little to nothing about him other than the fact that he had the most hauntingly stunning green eyes and that he was supposedly a very troubled child. They also knew that he wasn't truly the Dursley's child and that his parents had died in a drunk driving accident that he had survived, leaving him with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead from some shrapnel and some amount of trauma that affected the boy's behaviour and actions. Despite being told this, none of them had truly noticed anything wrong with the boy's behaviour. In fact, the young boy seemed to have a way with his peers and managed to have many friends amongst his age group.

As Harry walked down the street, he couldn't help but wonder what he was going to do for the night. He didn't know whether to go to a friend's house or to just go to a park and camp out. He wandered down the street aimlessly before arriving at a park and sitting down on a swingset before sighing and bringing his hand to his face. He flinched as he felt the tender skin on his cheek and knew there had to be a mark from it.

Suddenly, he heard a stick snap and his head turned to look to see what had made the noise. A man and woman were standing there, looking at him.

"Hello?" Harry asked quietly, unnerved at how he didn't notice them until then.

The man was tall and pale with dark hair that was cropped above his hears. He looked very strong and looked very imposing. Harry was immediately intimidated. The woman was small and petite, but also looked athletic. She had long black hair that went down to about her mid-back. The most unnerving thing about them was that they seemed as if they had glowing red eyes.

"What's a boy like you doing out here at a time like this?" The woman asked with a slight accent. She walked over to him slowly but the man stayed in the same position.

"Um, my aunt was mad at me so she told me to go somewhere else for the night," Harry explained, looking uneasily at the two adults.

The woman grimaced as she sat next to him. "What's your name?"

Harry was starting to get the unnerving feeling of raw terror as he continued to talk to these strangers. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I really should go home..."

She shot up and started speaking urgently, "No! You- you can't go. Just, stay here and talk to us."

Harry started to breathe faster and faster as he stood up slowly and began to walk away, not turning his back on the strange people. "Please, just, let me go home."

The woman looked worried as her eyes went from Harry to the man, but didn't speak soon enough. The man grinned and said in a dark voice, "Why won't you talk to us? We're not going to do anything to you that your aunt and uncle haven't already done."

Harry gasped and said, "What?! What do you mean?"

The man started walking towards him slowly, scaring Harry, even more, every step he took. "I know about how your Aunt has slapped you, how your Uncle has beaten you, or even, how he touches you in places you don't want to be touched."

Harry's breathing picks up even more as he turns on his heel and starts sprinting, but within seconds, he finds himself in the man's grasp, holding onto him tightly as he turns him around.

Harry is as stiff as a board as he feels the long slender fingers digging into his shoulders and fear grips his heart as the man's red eyes stare into his soul.

To Harry, it feels like an eternity in between seconds as the man looks at him but when he strikes, it happens quickly, faster than anything he's ever seen before, as his teeth sink into his neck.

It feels as if liquid fire is running through his veins and it is the worst pain he has ever felt in his very short life. Harry screams out of instinct but after a second, finds himself incapable of making any noise. He feels himself becoming more and more faint as the seconds go by, and he watches as the woman comes up next to him and says quietly, "Luca, was this really necessary?"

When the man finally pulls his teeth out of the child's neck, he licks his lips and said, "More worth it than I expected it to be. That was the best blood I've tasted in centuries."

And then, Harry lost consciousness.

When Harry woke up, he found himself in the middle of a forest on the cold hard ground. He got up and looked around, and found that he was nearby the park where he last was. He looked down and saw that he was covered in blood.

Fear struck him as a million questions popped into his head. What happened? _Whose blood is this?_ He instantly began running towards Privet Drive, it was early enough in the morning that nobody would be outside and none of the Dursleys would be awake.

When he arrived at the house, he first tried to open the front door and found it locked, so he went around to the back door and tried that door too. Locked. He sighed and steeled himself as he went back to the front and knocked on the door.

He didn't know how he heard it but he could hear his uncle mutter, "What the bloody hell is someone doing here at this ungodly hour?"

The door opened and there, in front of the bloodied boy, was his Uncle Vernon in a bathrobe. His uncle's face immediately got red as he pulled the boy inside, slammed the door shut, and demanded, "Where have you been, boy?!"

Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and answered, "I left, like Aunt Petunia told me too. She told me not to come back until this morning."

Vernon's eyebrows raised as he turned to his wife who was halfway down the stairs. "It's been a bloody week! Where have you been?"

"A week?" Harry trailed off, totally confused. The moments of confusion gave Vernon enough time to notice the blood that was splattered all over his clothes and skin.

Petunia seemed to have noticed at the same time as well and all but screeched, "Where did all that blood come from!?"

Harry gasped, he had forgotten about the blood in the spur of the moment. "I don't know... I just woke up in the woods after those people..."

"What people!?" Vernon yelled, becoming angrier as more of his questions were being left unanswered.

"These people... I was in the park and these people came up to me-" Harry was cut off from his story by Petunia, who was now full-blown screeching.

"More of those freaks! Just like my sister! Just like you! More and more bloody (literally) freaks! Vernon, we're taking him to the orphanage. Today! This boy's freakishness has got to stop!" Petunia ranted, making it seem as if she had said all of that in a matter of seconds.

Vernon nodded, still incredibly confused, but complied with his wife's demands. "Boy," Vernon started. "Take a bath and get all of that filth off of you and pack up your stuff by 8. That's when we'll leave."

Harry gasped at the sudden changes in his relative's actions but set to work. Any place was better than his aunt and uncle's, right?

He grabbed a different set of clothes and went into the bathroom, before stripping and starting the shower. He looked in the mirror and was completely surprised at his appearance. The last time he had seen his reflection, he had been very tan, but now, he was as pale as a sheet! His eyes had changed as well, from their stunning green to a now deep red, just like the people he had seen before.

He knew of stories of mythical creatures so he knew what vampires were, but were they really real? Was he one now? He pushed the thoughts aside and stepped into the shower, sighing as the hot water washed over him and the relief that reached him was immediate.

20 minutes later, Harry left the bathroom, and it only took him a minute to retrieve his things as he didn't have very many belongings. He loaded everything into the car, and he waited for his aunt and uncle to drive him away from Privet Drive for hopefully, the last time ever.

Thanks so much for reading! Today I've started this story and another one called the Twins-Who-Lived, so if you want to check that one out too, that would be great! I'd also like to know which one you think is better so I know which one I should put more effort into!

Please like and comment/review and thanks again for reading!


	2. 2 - The Orphanage

Walking through the streets of London, England brought back unpleasant memories to Tom Riddle's mind. He remembers the streets that he grew up walking through and it reminds him of how happy it makes him to know that he hasn't been there since he was 17.

He remembers luring Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop into the cave by the coast and torturing them until they agreed to do his bidding, breaking Billy Stubb's arm when he took his favourite book, and accidentally killing a rat during his first spurt of accidental magic.

Seeing such a well-put-together man walking through the streets of the shady part of London garnered him many venomous glares but he brushed them off in favour or reminiscing. With his dark good looks and dark red eyes (an aftereffect of the ritual), he was the source of just about everyone's envy.

After being defeated by Harry Potter on Halloween 4 years prior, Tom Riddle had searched in his spirit form, for a ritual to return him to his youthful form, and after all that time, he had finally succeeded. Peter Pettigrew and Quirinus Quirrell had worked together to find him and succeeded in Albania. Right after they resurrected him and returned his wand to him, despite promising great rewards, he killed them immediately.

He finally arrived at the orphanage, with a purpose in mind. He wanted an heir to raise in his name, with similar origins. He didn't know what the odds were that he was going to find a wizard at that orphanage but decided it was his first choice because it was where he had been raised. He also definitely wouldn't regret killing Mrs. Cole if that bitch was still alive.

The orphanage was old and run-down, only slightly more run-down than what it had been when he was young. He walked up to the door and sneered as he knocked on the door and felt how feeble it was. It could easily be destroyed by a kick or even a child just running into it. The door opened and he saw a young woman, easily in her late 20's, standing in the entrance hall.

"Hello, welcome to Wool's orphanage. What can I do for you today?" The woman asked with a sweet voice, as she smiled at the handsome man in front of her.

"I stayed here in my youth, and I was wondering if Mrs. Cole is around. Also, I might consider adopting a child if one catches my eye," Tom spoke briskly with his deep voice that managed to enthrall any woman or man who would be romantically interested.

"Of course," The woman spoke, smiling brightly before continuing. "I'm Margaret Laurie, and I'm afraid Mrs. Cole passed away a few years ago."

Tom pretended to seem downtrodden about this news but was internally seething that he wouldn't get to be the one to off the old hag. He glanced down at the ground before turning back to the woman and saying, "Is there any chance I could be introduced to the kids or at least look around and see some of them?"

Margaret nodded her head and answered, "Sure! They're all at dinner right now so I'm sure I can come in and introduce you to them!"

Tom smiled and followed the woman down the hallway that he had spent his childhood walking through.

Thirty minutes later, Tom Riddle was back standing in the lobby of the building, speaking to Margaret after finding no children that weren't muggles. "Thank you so much for your time," Tom spoke kindly. "Are there any other children that I would be able to meet?"

Margaret glanced down at the ground before returning her view to Tom. She looked incredibly unsure as she said quietly, "There is one more..."

He tilted his head and waited for her to continue. She sighed before continuing, "There's a boy who's relatives dropped him off a few weeks ago... They didn't say why but kept on calling him a freak and I thought they abused him and he would be better off here. But a few weeks ago, he broke one of the other children's arms and knocked another one unconscious and they only woke up with a cut on their wrist."

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the disconcerted woman in front of him. Did they have a vampire in the orphanage? He quickly responded, "May I meet him?"

She looked at him, shocked, but nodded her head hesitantly and said, "He's upstairs in his room, follow me and I can show you."

They walked up the worn-down stairs and walked into the room right next to where Tom used to stay, and he almost laughed at the irony. _This orphanage just seems to attract trouble, doesn't it?_ He thought to himself.

Margaret knocked on the door and when she heard a mumble from inside inviting her in, she opened the door. "Harry?

Tom glanced in and saw a young boy looking at him. The boy incredibly pale with brilliant red eyes, and that confirmed Tom's belief that he was a vampire. Although, he looked very ill, and that could be explained by the fact that he hadn't had enough blood and was most likely struggling with the urges.

The boy tilted his head slightly, moving his raven black hair out of his face and Tom's eyes widened, one of the first times that he had genuinely shown emotion in a long time.

A jagged lightning bolt scar was on his forehead.

This vampire was Harry Potter.

 _16 Days Earlier..._

Harry arrived at the orphanage in a rush. His relatives were pushing him in while the woman at the desk was asking what they were doing. They then proceeded to leave him there, with his aunt screaming the last remark of, "Keep him! I never want to see his freakish face again!"

For a moment, he had stood in silence staring at the ground as the woman looked back and forth between him and the door that his relatives had just stormed out of before she finally settled on looking at him.

"I'm Margaret Laurie, are you alright?" The woman asked sweetly, putting her hands on his shoulders to support him from what had just occurred. He just nodded numbly, not knowing how else to react to the news.

Over the next few hours, Margaret introduced him to the other children and showed him his room. Unfortunately, throughout the whole ordeal, he was distracted.

He was distracted by many things, for one, he wondered why the lady who ran the orphanage was being so nice to him. Nobody had ever treated him so well, and it was definitely a drastic change from what he was used to with the Dursleys.

Another reason for his distraction was that whenever he looked at anybody, his instincts were screaming at him to devour them, to drink their blood. He knew that he would never do this, and yet those were the thoughts he was having.

Even just thinking about other people had a throbbing pulse of desire running through his veins. He wanted nothing more than to feel the hot thick substance running down his throat and to feel the power that he was sure it would bring him. He wanted to see the colour leave their skin and to see the light leave their eyes.

 _NO!_ Harry forced himself to reason with his own thoughts. _This isn't what you want._

Yet, as Harry sat on his bed with his head on his knees and his arms drawing his legs in close, he couldn't help but think, _maybe that is what I want._

The urges only grew stronger as the week wore by at an agonizing pace. By the seventh day at the orphanage, Harry knew he wouldn't be able to hold back before he went berserk.

He approached his issue methodically, and came up with a list of steps he needed to follow:

Number 1: Choose victims.

This was the easiest step in Harry's opinion because from the moment he had turned up at Wool's orphanage, two boys had been eyeing him disdainfully and if he knew anything from dealing with bullies over the years, he knew that they would be making their move soon.

Harry sat on a lone swing attached to a tree as he observed all the other children playing at the playground. He eyed two of them specifically; Darryl and Jason. The two boys were sitting in the sandbox that they had claimed and seemed to be discussing a plan. To Harry, it was painfully obvious that the plan was about him due to the way they kept on glancing over at him.

The orphanage was on a field trip, and luckily for Harry, they went to the perfect location. A park by the seaside with a small cave located nearby. It would be ideal for Harry's plan.

Number 2: Lure them away.

This didn't require much from Harry, as the boys approached him first. They told him that they had gone on the same field trip last year and that they knew of a cave nearby. They asked if he wanted to hang out with them.

If Harry hadn't seen their plan coming from a mile away, he would have definitely had some trust issues after having his new "friends" take him away to a cave and then beat him up.

The young vampire agreed of course and allowed the two boys to lead him away. On the inside, he was sneering at how gullible these boys were and how easy it was to reverse their plan back on them.

Number 3: Allow them to make the initiating moves, and then fight back.

This had Harry a bit more nervous. He didn't want to get hurt and he didn't particularly want to hurt anyone, despite what his thoughts and urges were telling him to do. After a moment of deliberation, Harry made up his mind and steeled himself for the events that were about to unfold.

The trio arrived in the cave, where Darryl began cracking his knuckles, and Jason, clearly the brains of the two, started speaking, "Since you arrived, everybody's been talking about you. Caroline saw your uncle and aunt drop you off, and saw them call you a freak and that they never wanted you. "

Normally, Harry might have felt a sting of sadness at this, but it really didn't have an effect on him. In his mind, it was a stretch to even say he was even related to the Dursleys.

Darryl cut in with his annoying whine of a voice, "Yeah, I can't even imagine how bad you must be for your family to have actually abandoned you."

Harry puckered his lips as if he had just eaten something sour, but the expression only stayed for a minute, before he switched his face to play a vulnerable kid. "W-what do you mean? I thought we were going to be-"

"Friends?" Jason cut in, grinning as maliciously as possible for a nine-year-old. "As if we would be friends with you, freak."

Darryl suddenly made a move, shoving Harry into the wall of the cave. Jason moved over Harry's left side to hit him, but a foreign feeling overtook Harry and his eyes glinted a dangerous red as Harry grabbed the arm to was coming to hit him and slammed it against the wall. The foreign feeling apparently allowed him to have an enhanced sense of strength because his arm immediately snapped under the pressure.

Jason screamed out in pain and promptly fainted, collapsing to the ground, while Darryl was too shocked to react. Harry, or for better terms, the feeling that took over Harry, took advantage of the older boy's shock and punched him in the face, effectively and efficiently knocking him unconscious.

Harry took a deep breath in, ignoring the urges that were telling him to go for the neck, and kneeled down next to Jason's uninjured arm, and picked it up. He mentally steeled himself, before going sinking his enlarged canines into the other boy's vein. He ignored the small spasm of pain that went through Jason's body and continued to enjoy the euphoric sensation. He stopped after a few moments, wiping the excess away from his lips with the back of his palm.

The urges were satiated, if only partially, as he moved onto the next boy with a grin on his face.

:-:-:-:-:

Mere minutes later, Harry found himself face to face with an incredibly angry orphanage director. He had found the woman very kind so far, and this was a new level of angry that he had never seen come from her.

"What did you do?!" She demanded, screeching in his face. After having found the unconscious boys, all hope that she had for the quiet child in front of her was destroyed quickly. Any child who could break another's arm was not a child she wanted in her orphanage. While she had no real proof that it was Harry's fault, she had seen him walk over to the cave with the boys and was hopeful that Harry was finally making a friend.

Harry's eyes widened, an innocent gleam in his eyes, "I'm not sure what you mean, I was over at the swings the whole time... Are they alright?"

Margaret pursed her lips, allowing herself to calm down before speaking again. She hadn't done anything irrational in her years of directing the orphanage and she didn't plan on breaking that streak. "I saw you walk off with the boys. Tell me what happened."

The young boy's face crinkled in confusion. "Ma'am, I'm not sure what you mean. I was at the swing the whole time."

After a few deep breaths, Margaret realized that there was nothing she could do without looking ridiculous to the other staff members. Nobody else had seen him go over to the cave, and there was nothing to prove it.

She would just have to hope it doesn't happen again.

:-:-:-:-:

The next few weeks were full of loneliness and desolation for Harry, but at this point, he was used to it. The only difference now was that Mrs. Laurie was delivering wary glances and some of the kids who were friends with Darryl and Jason were as well. The difference was, that with these kids, sometimes the glances were even fearful.

Seeing their fear sent a thrill down Harry's spine that both excited and scared him immensely. He had changed a lot since he became a vampire, and despite one side of him thinking that it wasn't normal, the other side of him loved it. Since the change, the side that didn't like it was quickly being taken over by the other side.

One of the days, he was particularly ravenous. He didn't want to move, much less eat the inedible crap that they serve at the orphanage. The urges were strong, but his other side was fighting back in his mind. It was a feeble attempt to stop Harry from lashing out.

Harry knew he had to act soon, or else he would go crazy. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to move. He had such a strong feeling that was telling him to just stay where he was that he stayed.

Eventually, his endeavour to do literally nothing turned out to be fruitful when the director knocked on his door and came in with a man.

This particular man was definitely something different from all the others, however. He was darkly handsome, with the same red eyes as Harry. Despite this, he knew the man was not a vampire like him. He had something else, something that screamed to Harry's one side to stay with the man.

Mrs. Laurie looked back and forth between the boy and the man, only showing a hint of nervousness as she said, "Harry, this is Mr. Riddle, Mr. Riddle, this is Harry Potter."

Tom nodded, eyeing Harry with an intense look. "May we have a moment please, Ms. Laurie?" The man's voice was deep with an intimidating velvety tone. It made him wish that the orphanage director wouldn't leave him alone with the man.

The ever-fighting rational side of Harry's mind was telling him to get away while the other side of him was telling him to manipulate him and suck his blood. Perhaps they would gain some power from it.

Ms. Laurie gave a hesitant look at the two of them but nodded, before leaving the room.

The moment the door shut behind her, Tom fixed Harry with an intense look that seemed to peer into his soul. Harry was about to look away when suddenly, a massive pounding headache overcame him and Harry was pulled into his own memories.

 _Harry cooking in the kitchen, making breakfast for his uncle before he goes to work. Out of nowhere, a bird flies into the window and startles Harry, causing him to knock over the frying pan and send the bacon flying all over the floor, burning his hand in the process. His aunt ran into the room after hearing the bang and the scream of pain from her nephew._

 _An enraged look took over her face as her hands started trembling in anger. "You freak!" She screeched, "What have you done this time!?"_

 _Harry's eyes widened as he held his burnt hand "I-I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia! I was startled by-" "Do you think I care? You bloody ruined Vernon's breakfast! He won't be happy!"_

 _Consumed by anger, Petunia picked up the still scalding hot frying pan and hit Harry over the head with all the strength that she has, leading to Harry crumpling to the floor, unconscious._

 _ **NO!**_

 _Silent sobs racked a 5 year Harry's body as he sat in his cupboard, completely dark save for a few thin rays coming through the grate on the door. Thin, red welts decorated his back in some sort of sick design._

 _The reason for Harry's punishment was that he had turned his teacher's wig blue. Harry had had no idea what had happened until he came home and apparently it was his fault. Uncle Vernon had heard from one of Dudley's friend's parents about the incident and immediately blamed Harry._

 _ **GET OUT!**_

 _"Harry, sweetie, are you feeling alright?"_

 _Harry's head lifted up from his desk as his teacher tried to get his attention. A kind-looking woman with long brown hair and petite frame. Her head was tilted in concern as she spoke, "Have you been getting enough sleep? Should I talk to your parents?"_

 _That woke Harry up quickly. He jumped, startled, and blurted out, "No! I'm fine, just a little tired, miss."_

 _His teacher turned her head away briefly, considering his response before saying, "Ok, if you're sure. But a word of advice, Harry, never let anyone silence your voice. I can tell that your aunt and uncle like to shut you down, but you should never do something that you don't want to do."_

 _Green eyes blinked owlishly before a look of understanding dawned over the boy._

 _And he realized, she was right._

 _ **LEAVE!**_

 _A group of children were playing in the schoolyard. It was a nice spring day, and it was the first day in a while that none of the children needed to wear a jacket. The air was filled with the fresh scent that always comes after a nice rainstorm._

 _The large cement area had about a hundred or so children, and all of them, save for about a dozen, were scattered around the yard. The twelve that were grouped together, however, were listening to one boy, who was smaller than the rest of them._

 _He seemed to be giving instructions, and the majority of the group was listening attentively. This was a big step for Harry. He had never been listened to, he had always been the one listening, but now he was suddenly the centre of attention. And he found that he enjoyed it. He liked people listening to him, people following him._

 _For once in his life, he was the ringleader, and he was enjoying it._

 _ **...**_

 _Harry walking through a park, late at night, after another one of his aunt's fits that ended in him being thrown out. A woman and man approach him, and despite Harry's polite attempts to run away, the man grabs him and sinks his fangs into his neck._

 _Hours passed by in seconds for Harry, as the pain took over and he was left writhing on the ground, eventually waking up in a random forest a week later._

 _ **please...**_

 _A week after the field trip, Margaret Laurie found herself interviewing Harry for at least the third time. Despite what everyone was telling her, she steadfastly believed that Harry was the one at fault for their injuries._

 _"Mrs. Laurie, I don't know what you mean," Harry spoke, trying to look as innocent as possible without seeming even more suspicious. "I've barely even spoken to them since I got here, I barely even know their names!"_

 _The orphanage director's eyes narrowed as she wished she had the ability to tell when someone's lying. "Alright, Harry. I'm sorry for asking you about this again. I'll leave you to sleep."_

 _"Thank you, ma'am, have a nice night," Harry said with a sweet smile as the woman walked away, leaving him alone. The second the door shut behind her, a smirk flashed across Harry's face as he laid down in bed and shut off the lights._

Harry jerked back to reality in an instant, feeling like his lungs had been stuck in space momentarily before being put back into his body. He coughed raggedly, and once he recovered, he sat up straight to face the man in front of him.

Red eyes were watching him with a large amount of interest, and Harry resisted the urge to flinch away. "It's nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Tom, and I'd like to adopt you."

Reviews are much appreciated and are a sure fire way to get me to update more!

Thanks for reading!


	3. 3 - Adapting

Walking through the streets of London being dragged behind a man that he had just met - and had just been adopted by - was an interesting, but a mortifying ordeal.

After the man had made his announcement, he had stood up, walked outside, and in less than five minutes Harry was packing his things. Margaret had clearly been hiding excitement at the idea of Harry leaving because the papers were signed and he was gone within half an hour.

He had hardly spoken a word. He was terrified after having to relive some of the best and worst moments of his life. He had no idea what power the man had - but if vampires could exist, who says mind-readers couldn't either?

Suddenly the two of them walked into a decrepit pub with only five occupants. A man dragging a small and frail child through a restaurant clearly wasn't something people were accustomed to seeing, and all of the people in the pub looked over.

As the man who introduced himself as Tom Riddle walked over to the bar, far from quiet. Harry looked around, fear plain in his eyes, and made eye contact with several of the people sitting at the tables.

One of them, a short man with a borderline hunchback, stood up and took a step closer, eyes wide with realization. "Is that Harry Potter?"

Tom snapped around when he heard those words. He glared at the man who was now approaching Harry cautiously.

Harry was stunned, totally at a loss. Why did these people know who he was? He had never met any of them at any point in his life.

Tom, who had now let go of his hand and had stopped dragging him, turned back to the bartender and briskly said, "May we use your floo?"

The man looked curiously at the situation that was unfolding, and even as he was answering, "Sure," to Tom's request, he was trying to see if the boy next to him was really the legend that the people in the bar believed he was.

By the time Tom was heading to the floo, he realized that he didn't have his ward in tow. He turned around to yell at the boy but saw that he was surrounded by a small crowd of people who all wanted to shake his hand and were introducing themselves. Clearly, the boy was painfully confused and overwhelmed.

At the moment when Tom noticed that the man who had initially approached Harry seemed to be looking very closely at Harry's eyes and was putting the pieces together, Tom stormed towards him and grabbed his hand. He pulled him straight to the floo and put up a silencing charm before grabbing the floo powder and throwing it down. "Malfoy Manor."

For Harry, those were some of the most confusing moments of his life. Within a minute, he went from people clambering over each other to talk to him for a reason that he had no clue of, and then suddenly his guardian was grabbing him and bringing him into the fireplace of all things. Before he knew it, he felt as if he was being launched into the air and being forced into the ground simultaneously.

When he landed, he collapsed onto the ground in front of him, coughing as if he was trying to get something out of his throat. He rolled over onto his back, breathing heavily. He looked at Tom and saw that he was looking down at him, a small sneer on his face but other than that, there was no emotion showing at all. It unnerved Harry greatly.

He stood up and brushed himself off. By the time he was ready to move, he noticed that Tom was already halfway out of the room. Harry ran to catch up with him and had to walk very quickly to continue keeping up with the man's brisk pace.

Harry decided it was best to stay silent. He wasn't sure how this man would react if he asked a question, and he didn't want to risk it just in case he had similar methodologies to his Uncle.

Wherever they had arrived, it was massive. Harry had never been in such a large building and while he was trying to keep track of where he was going, the task soon became impossible.

The pair finally entered a room, and Harry was amazed by how grandiose the dining room was. He was paying so much attention to the room around him that he didn't even pay attention to the three blonde haired people sitting at the table until Tom sneered, "Lucius."

Harry watched as an odd scene played out in front of him. A blonde haired man stood up briskly, knocking over his chair in the process. He immediately bowed to Tom, which only proved to confuse Harry further. "My Lord," he murmured pitifully.

Tom took a deep breath, and Harry got a feeling that he was trying to resist rolling his eyes at the man's grovelling. "Lucius, stand up. I just wanted to inform you that it was I who came through your floo and entered your wards."

Turning on his heel, Tom walked with an obscene amount of grace back to the door where Harry was standing, half-hiding in the shadows.

"Who are you?" A childish voice rang out before Tom could make it out of the door. Harry looked at the person who spoke, and it seemed that it was a boy of Harry's age, although much more pampered, and while thin, not nearly as skinny as Harry.

The woman at the table gasped quietly and looked at the child sharply. He looked at her in confusion and she shook her head as if she was panicked and put a finger over her mouth as if to gesture that he should be quiet.

Tom stopped mid-step, and spun on his feet, staring coldly at the child who talked back to him. Lucius was visibly collapsing under pressure before he stepped in between Tom and the child who Harry could only assume was his son. He spoke, but the panic was clear in his voice, as he said, "I'm sorry, my lord. Forgive him, he's only a child."

Tom's eyes flashed visibly before he tilted his head in mock curiosity. "Have you not educated your son in the ways of the dark, Lucius?"

Lucius flinched at the words and seemed to be at a loss for words before he finally stammered out, "He's only a child, my lord. I didn't feel it was necessary to tell him when he was so young. I was going to explain once he turns 10."

Tom gave a sound of indifference before saying, "I recommend you educate him now. Better to give him more time to comprehend. If you tell him when he has enough thought to be self-aware, it's possible he would resist."

"Of course, my lord," Lucius said calmly. Being taken by surprise by the appearance of the Dark Lord and by having to defend his son had had him off his guard, but now that he knew that Draco would be alright, he was now composed. "Although, it is customary that all Malfoy's serve the dark. I'm sure my heir would be able to understand that no matter what his age is."

Tom pursed his lips but nodded his assent. "I shall take my leave. I would appreciate it if you reprimanded the boy. If he makes the mistake of displaying his insolence in my presence again, I will not be so forgiving."

Lucius nodded and apologized again, and Tom turned around and left through the door, Harry following behind him obediently.

The Malfoy family remained still and silent after the exit of the Dark Lord. They even waited a few moments just to make sure the danger had cleared, and that they were safe to speak.

"I thought he was _dead_!"Narcissa whispered harshly, looking sharply to Lucius, who was still staring at the door where the Dark Lord had just exited.

"So did I. I barely even recognized him either. The only reason I recognized him was that he looked like that when I was a child. He changed so much over time, and every time he changed, he seemed more and more inhumane. I never really paid attention to it, but now I realize. Before it seemed as if he was overtly powerful. He showed it off and just looking at him it was obvious. Now even the undertone of his speech reeks of power, it's incredible. It's so much more hidden, and yet his power is so much stronger than before. I'm not sure what he did, but now there is no chance the dark can fail," Lucius spoke quietly, clearly deep in thought.

The whole family sat in silence, although their minds were all thrumming with thoughts.

Young Draco was incredibly confused at what had just happened, and yet a deep sense of self-preservation had screamed at him to run when the man had looked at him. He didn't know what to think about it, or anything that had just occurred. The words of his father and the words of that man were confusing, and he wanted answers. "Who was that?" He spoke quietly, keeping up the theme that his family had shown over the last minute of quiet fear.

Narcissa snapped back to reality, and got out of her seat, going over to her son, and kneeling in front of her son. "Oh, my dear dragon," she spoke softly, running a lithe hand through his hair. "That was the dark lord."

Draco still seemed confused, but Narcissa wasn't sure how to elaborate. Lucius decided to do it for her. "That's the man you will follow once you are of age. He is the leader of the dark, and he is the most powerful man alive."

The Malfoy heir looked down, lips pursed. He seemed to understand, it was just another thing added to the list of things that were set in stone about his life. Virtually his whole future had been mapped out, but because he had been raised with the belief that that was normal, he just accepted it. "Who was with him?"

Silence ensued, only broken by Narcissa asking a question her husband. "Was it who I thought it was?"

Lucius still stood in the same position, and he finally turned around and looked at his family. His eyes, normally stoney, were filled to the brim with emotions. "I think so... Although I'm not sure how that could be possible."

Draco was even more curious than before. "Who? And why were his eyes red?"

"I believe that was Harry Potter, but it wouldn't make any sense. There is no way the boy-who-lived is a vampire, or that the Dark Lord has him in his possession..." Narcissa explained, trailing off at the end.

"Harry Potter?! You mean the boy-who-lived?" Draco exclaimed, now excited. He had heard so many stories from his friends and he had trouble believing that he was anything short of a myth.

"You shall never speak of this, Draco," Lucius nailed his son with a harsh, uncompromising look. "This is a family secret and it will _never_ leave this dining room, do you understand?"

Draco nodded, scared of his father's reaction. He would never speak the words again, for fear of not only his father's wrath, but the wrath of the dark lord.

Harry was even more terrified than he had been before. Now that he had seen a whole family terrified of the man who was now his guardian. Not only had he seemed like he was going to hurt the blonde kid, but he had the full-grown man quivering at his feet.

The other side of Harry was drinking in the power that exuded off of this man, telling him to stay close if he wanted power in the future. Harry didn't know what to think about that and was terrified at what his thoughts were telling him without his own volition.

Harry and the man arrived back at the fireplace, and Tom stepped in, turned around, and gestured for Harry to join him. Harry's eyes darted to the ground before getting into the fireplace. Tom grabbed some floo powder, before saying calmly, "Callidus Manor, East Wing."

The unpleasant sensation occurred again, and Harry thought he was going to fall, but found himself being caught by Tom's hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Harry said quietly, causing Tom to look at him in interest, smirk slightly, but otherwise say nothing.

Harry found himself following Tom yet again, but this journey was much shorter than the one in Malfoy Manor. The room that greeted Harry was delightful. It was very homey, and Harry found it perfect.

There was a set of couches facing each other in the center of the large room. There was a fireplace behind the couches from where Harry was standing, and the walls were covered in bookcases that were filled from wall to wall. Two sets of stairs roped around the large room, one starting on Harry's left and the other on his right. At the top of the stairs, there was a balcony that went all the way around, with about four doors leading to rooms.

Tom gestured for Harry to sit on one of the couches, and he did so, however hesitantly. He was very scared of the man who had read his mind and he wasn't afraid to admit it. So many questions were raised: _How could he see his memories? How could we travel through a fireplace? Why was that blonde man so afraid of him?_

"This will be where we will stay," Tom said, still standing as he looked at Harry seriously, clearly looking to see how he was paying attention. Harry didn't answer, in fear of getting in trouble, an just decided to listen.

Tom clearly expected a reaction, but once he did not get one, he responded, "I'm impressed with how quiet you are. I imagined a child of your age would be more... lively."

Harry spoke, although very quietly. "Would you rather I speak more?"

The older man's response was a look filled to the brim with interest. "When it is just us, yes. I would like you to speak your mind. As long as you are not insolent, ignorant, or arrogant, I will never reprimand you for speaking."

Harry nodded, and spoke with more confidence, "What are you?"

A laugh reverberated through the silent room, and it stunned Harry very much. "I am a wizard, and so are you. So was that family that I just spoke to. It just so happens that you are also a vampire."

Harry's eyes met the ground. "Yes, I know. What does being a wizard or a vampire entail?"

A small smile lit up on Tom's face, which surprised Harry that he could show so much emotion. "A wizard can perform magic, using a wand, although some very powerful wizards, like myself, don't necessarily need a wand to use magic. Now being a vampire is a different story. Vampires are very widely ostracized in the wizarding community, and they're not widely documented at all. In fact, I had to travel to Romania to find a book that spoke about vampires in an unbiased manner."

While Harry didn't understand all the words that the man was saying, he understood the point he was trying to get across. Tom continued, "I would like to know whether vampires have the abilities that very old documents say they have, or that more modern documents say they have. If you don't mind, and I'm sure you won't," Tom smiled a smile that could win awards, "I'd like to test it out."

Harry had no qualms in discovering his abilities, but he had a feeling that Tom didn't want to test those abilities out quite yet. His fear was fading quickly but he was still wary of the man. "Yeah, that sounds fine."

Tom looked pensively at the child in front of him. He had been quite a catch. Not only was he quiet and obedient, but if he had the vampiric powers that they speak of in the old tomes, then with the proper training, the two of them would be _unstoppable_. First, he had to explain everything, and what his plan was for the future.

"Now, Harry, there's quite a bit that you need to understand before we begin. For one, I am the Dark Lord. In the wizarding world, there is light, neutral, and dark magic, although having completely neutral magic is an incredibly rare trait. On each side of the spectrum, there is a leader. I am the leader of the dark, widely known as Lord Voldemort, although you may call me Tom when it is just the two of us. The leader of the light is named Albus Dumbledore."

"In the wizarding world, there is truly no good or evil, although the terms light and dark make it seem as such. There is only power and those too weak to seek it. Together, I believe we will be able to defeat the light, once and for all. Would you like to aid me in my journey?"

Harry was contemplative. He barely knew the man, and yet his other side was screaming at him to accept the offer. "Before I make a choice, my mind is battling with itself. Ever since I became a vampire my mind has been... split. Can you help me?"

Tom quickly responded with a nod and began asking questions about Harry's mental state. Within minutes, Tom was summoning a potion to himself, and muttering about how Harry was lucky that Tom had been reading a lot on vampires and had decided to experiment with some potions.

"That's one thing that correlates with what the old documents say. I can only hope that more matches up." Tom spoked as he watched Harry drink the potion, cringing at the taste but drinking it anyway.

Harry shut his eyes as if they were in pain, but after a few minutes, he opened them. He blinked quite a bit, and then rubbed his eyes, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, before taking off his glasses. "I can see fine!" He exclaimed.

Tom nodded, "It has been speculated that some vampires have an inner moral battle when they change. Once the moral battle is over, it shows that you've accepted yourself. Enhanced sense is just one of the many abilities that you should have now. Is hunger even stronger now?"

Harry was amazed by how spot on he was. The hunger had increased quite a bit after taking that potion. He nodded, and Tom muttered a quick, "I'll be right back," before disappearing with a sharp crack.

Stunned at what had just happened, Harry laid back on the couch, appreciating what it looked like with perfect vision. He contemplated everything and found that his mindset was much clearer now.

He wanted power, but he would be discreet in his pursuit of it. He would achieve it no matter what the cost and he would aid Tom in his pursuit. Together, they would dominate the wizarding world. Harry had no doubt about that.

Before Harry knew it, Tom was back, with a levitating person behind him who was tied up in ropes. Tom released the person from the binds, and explained, "I stunned him. When I remove the curse from him, you're going to drink his blood. Drink as much as you can. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded and waited eagerly for the man to start moving. He only had to wait a few moments but the man's movements were sluggish.

Harry struck quickly, and Tom watched with a smirk on his face as the child was merely a blur as he ran to the man, immediately sinking his fangs into his neck and sucking greedily. This child would be a force to reckon with as time passed. Tom just needed to find a vampire willing to train him in their ways.

The body dropped to the floor, completely pale and devoid of the substance that had carried life into his body. Harry fell back off of the body, smiling as he licked the final drops of blood from his fangs.

"Impressive," Tom muttered, observing with a watchful eye. "I'm excited to see how well you will progress. First, we must get you a wand. Follow me."

Harry grinned at him, showing his canines, and he followed his new guardian down the hallway towards the floo as they quickly left to Diagon Alley.

"Dumbledore's Office!" Mundungus Fletcher exclaimed as he threw down the floo powder. When asked for the code, he said, "Fawkes."

He appeared on the other end, finding himself exactly where he wanted to. He was extremely relieved to find that Dumbledore hadn't changed his floo code.

Dumbledore was not present in the office, so Mundungus sat at the chair in front of his desk and waited. He knew that Dumbledore had wards that let him know when someone was in his office and who it was, so he knew that it was also only a matter of time before the man showed up.

His predictions were correct, and Dumbledore was there within five minutes. "Ah! Dumbledore, nice to see you again!"

Dumble offered a kindly smile to the man who was a member of the now-disbanded Order of the Pheonix. "Mundungus, very nice to see you again. What had it been, 7 years?"

Fletcher nodded, "About that. After the Order was disbanded there wasn't really much reason to come visit you."

The old man understood and inquired about his reason for his visit. "So what brings you to my office today, Mundungus?"

"Where do you have Harry Potter placed?" Mundungus asked, skipping over any more pleasantries to get straight to the facts, not wanting to waste time that they could be spending trying to figure this mystery out.

"He should be safely at home with his aunt and uncle in Surrey, why do you ask?" Dumbledore asked, showing his curiosity and concern at the question asked.

"I saw him today at the Leaky Cauldron, with a man, who I really can't imagine being his uncle." Mundungus expressed him concerns.

Dumbledore's eyebrows furrowed, and he walked over to his table of trinkets. "How could I have not noticed?" He muttered under his breath, as he picked up the ward key, which had the words 'Harry Potter' written across it.

Mundungus watched as Dumbledore checked a ward key that had clearly gone inactive, and then came back over to the desk. "Would you mind sharing your memory so I could view it in my pensieve?"

Putting his wand to his head, Fletcher extracted the memory and placed it in the pensieve. He only hesitated for a second, wondering what conversation he had been having when the boy had walked in.

Dumbledore entered the memory, and Mundungus elected to stay on the outside, as he had witnessed it only hours earlier, and he didn't enjoy the sensation of entering a memory. He would prefer to wait.

Albus found himself in the Leaky Cauldron pub on a very slow day, which made sense considering it was the middle of spring. He saw Tom the bartender cleaning off some glasses, Bathilda Bagshot who was talking to her great-niece Violetta, and Mundungus Fletcher who was speaking to someone that Albus couldn't quite recognize.

He chose not to listen to Mundungus' conversation because he would rather not know what went on in that man's life, and have to deal with the consequences of his probably-illegal hobbies.

Instead, he waited, and it didn't take very long until two people walked in - Tom Riddle, who looked like he was in his thirties, and Harry Potter, wearing muggle clothes and sporting a pair of red eyes.

Albus resisted the urge to completely drop his jaw at the situation. He was incredibly surprised by the whole scene in front of him, and it rose several questions.

Tom looked exactly like he had back when he had applied for the defence position and Albus had rejected him. He had no idea how he could have possibly returned to this state and was amazed at how returned back to his prime.

He watched at Mundungus stood up, proclaimed that Harry Potter had arrived, and that caused a crowd to grow around him. Albus watched very closely as Tom turned around, grabbed Harry, and brought him away with him.

Albus was thrust back into the real world, and he could already feel a headache building on. First, he missed that the wards had collapsed at the Dursleys and know Harry was kidnapped by Tom. Not to even mention that Tom seemed to have returned to his full power and Harry was somehow a vampire.

He massaged his temples as he leaned back in his chair. He turned to his trusted Pheonix and spoke the dreaded words that were the last thing that Mundungus wanted to come out of his mouth; "Fawkes, summon the Order. Harry Potter has been kidnapped."

Hope you like it! Longest chapter so far (by barely anything) and I wrote it in a day which normally never happens.

Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Also, if you're look for more stories, you might want to check out my other stories - Twins-Who-Lived and Harry Potter and the Voice of the Obscurial!

Date published: February 23rd 2019 (the day before Rami Malek hopefully wins best actor at the Oscars!)


	4. 4 - Learning

Dumbledore stood at the head of a large table at the Burrow, looking at the remains of the Order of the Pheonix that had been disbanded seven years ago. Only about fourteen people remained, and they were all in a complete state of panic.

Molly Weasley, who had not been a member of the Order the first time around had volunteered to join the organization that her brothers, Gideon and Fabian, had given their lives for. She had also volunteered her home to be used for meetings, which Dumbledore was very grateful for, as he had been in dire need for a meeting place for the Order to convene.

The table was in a panic. They had all been told the reason for the meeting in order to ensure that people would take it seriously, but the reason was big... And Dumbledore hadn't even given the whole reason. He had only told them of the kidnapping, not the fact that Voldemort was back.

"Everyone please be silent," Dumbledore spoke calmly, and surprisingly enough, the room went silent save for a few whispers. "I've called you all here to address a certain revelation, which means that Order will have to be officially reinstated."

More murmurs broke out, but Dumbledore still held everyone's attention. "Not only do I have reason to believe that Harry Potter has been kidnapped, but that the Dark Lord has returned as well."

The silence stood for only a few moments before Molly Weasley collapsed in a dead faint, and the whole room erupted into questions for Dumbledore. Chaos had taken over the room the moment Molly was caught by her husband.

Dumbledore raised his wand and cast a spell that created a near-deafening boom that brought all of the Order members back to their senses. They needed to know what had made their leader believe this, and they needed to know the next action to take.

With a serious look in his eyes that many in the room had never seen before, Dumbledore spoke again. "I would appreciate it if you would all remain silent. This meeting is of grave importance if we wish for the light to prevail. Do you understand?"

Met with several nods, and few murmurs of assent, Dumbledore continued, "Earlier this afternoon, Harry Potter was seen being dragged through the Leaky Cauldron by a man that I believe was the Dark Lord. I knew Voldemort in his early years - in fact, I taught him at Hogwarts - and he looks to be the same age as he was a few years after graduation. I believe that he has performed some sort of ritual that allowed his age to be restored."

The room was full of shocked faces, and most of them flinched at the name, but nobody spoke. "A mob quickly started when someone noticed that it was Harry Potter in the pub and the man turned around and pulled him to the floo. Unfortunately, we do not know where they went as he put up a silencing charm before they left."

Severus Snape was one of the most conflicted at this news, as he had already been aware for a few weeks of his Lords return, but he had not expected Dumbledore to find out so soon. He wasn't sure where his loyalties lay, and he wanted to speak with the Dark Lord and know fully of his status before making any decisions.

"Our next actions should be to restart the Order, and get as many members as we can, as fast as we can. We don't know what state Voldemort's army is in, and we don't know when he'll begin his attacks. Can you all agree with this?" Dumbledore spoke in an 'agree or leave now' tone.

Everyone agreed although some looked hesitant. This caused Dumbledore to sigh, but he knew that people wouldn't completely be on board. Seeing is believing in most cases, but luckily Dumbledore had enough sway that some people believed what he said.

"Now, another matter we need to discuss... I have reason to believe that Harry Potter is a vampire."

The table erupted into chaos again and Dumbledore let out another sigh, as he realized how much work this group truly needed.

Two weeks after Harry's arrival, Harry found himself in a largely empty hall with Tom, Harry paying complete attention to his newly-dubbed teacher. Tom stood looking down at his ward with interest.

He had completely no regrets about choosing Harry as his apprentice. He had the potential not only magically but physically. If he ever found himself losing a battle with magic, he could outrun them and physically defeat them before they could even yell 'stupefy.'

"Now," Tom began, drawling out his voice to show that he required Harry's full attention before anything else. "To begin, I want to give you an overview of everything you will be doing. I will be giving you duelling lessons, which is a broad way of saying that I will be teaching you as many spells - dark, light or neutral - that I can, as well as dodging, and traditional duelling. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded promptly, trying to resist a smile. He was incredibly happy to know that one of the most powerful wizards of all time was going to be his teacher. So far, he had only been taught the basics - but he knew the history of the past war, although he hadn't explained why it had come to such an abrupt halt.

He knew that Dumbledore was an extremely powerful man who displayed himself in a light that made him seem pure and innocent as if he had done nothing wrong in his whole entire life. In reality, Dumbledore twisted his followers and used their high view of him to get them to do his bidding.

Tom had also explained that Dumbledore was the reason that he had been placed at the Dursleys, and that lit a flame of anger in his heart that he quickly extinguished. If he knew anything about what he would do in his future, he knew that he would not let petty feelings like anger be a disadvantage.

Harry came to that decision when Tom explained something about his past. He explained that he had been hell-bent on immortality, and lost focus on his goals. He created dark artifacts called Horcruxes which each contained a part of his soul. Every time he created another Horcrux, he was ripping off a piece of his soul and losing another chunk of his morality, and his decisions became more and more irrational. He said that he used a ritual to restore himself to the time when he had made his first Horcrux, and a drop of ageing potion had fixed him to the place where he wanted to be.

"Good. Now, I plan on setting you up with a tutor and having you on a fast track through the Hogwarts curriculum. Lucius will be giving you lessons on pureblood etiquette, and I plan on seeing if one of my Death Eaters would be willing to teach you Potions as well. Other than them, I'm not yet sure who I will be choosing, but I'm sure it will be a quick process." Tom spoke as if he was still going through possible candidates in his mind of who could teach Harry.

"When do students typically begin at Hogwarts?" Harry asked shyly. He still wasn't completely used to speaking to one of the most powerful men in modern history and knew it would take some getting used to.

Tom shot Harry a curious look, as he considered how often Harry's demeanour changed between composed and shy. He would need to get Lucius to bring that confidence out or help him using his own methods. It surely couldn't be too difficult.

"The first year begins at 11, and they go all the way to the seventh year. I don't plan on sending you to Hogwarts, as that would be playing right into Dumbledore's hands, and to be honest, I'm not even sure if Hogwarts accepts vampires. Either way, it wouldn't prove to be beneficial as it would only slow your learning exponentially and you would be learning much more here. Here, you can truly reach your potential. I also plan to have you take your OWL's and NEWT's when I deem you ready, and I will request a private practitioner to test you."

"Another issue I would like to address," Tom continued, "Is your confidence. If you would like to appear as my apprentice, then you need to have a confident air around you. You have to remember that all of my Death Eaters are below you. If you do not display this confidence, they will challenge you, and if you lack this confidence, you will fail. This is vital. Do you understand?"

Harry straightened up immediately. "Yes, sir. I understand."

He spoke clearly, and Tom smiled a little bit and nodded, making Harry feel gratified. Harry realized that unless he acted truly insolent, or betrayed him, Tom would have no reason to torture him. He seemed like a completely reasonable man to Harry, and he could only hope his deduction was correct.

"Now, let's begin and see how well you can dodge," Tom stated, taking a small amount of pleasure in seeing Harry's eyes widen in fear. The taller man straightened his stance, drew his wand, and began; " _Titillando!_ "

One month later, Draco Malfoy wandered through Malfoy Manor aimlessly. Summer had just begun and all of his friends had left on vacation, and his family wasn't able to leave because of something having to do with his father.

He missed Blaise and Pansy and wanted nothing more than to go into the loft above the library and spread pureblood gossip. Considering they were nine, most of their gossip consisted of things they had overheard their parents saying. _'Daphne's sister did what?'_ and ' _Theo's father is threatening to send him to Durmstrang?'_ Usually, they were things of little consequence, and nothing ended up coming of it.

Even if they didn't do the most interesting of things, even their mere presence was able to distract them from the dreary life that was the pureblood reality. They had images to maintain and uphold. If any of them were seen fooling around in public, they were harshly reprimanded.

Draco sighed, as he turned yet another corner, and found himself in the kitchen, where one of their house elves was milling around, preparing food for lunch.

The elf noticed Draco's presence, and jumped, almost dropping what it was holding. "Master Draco!" The elf, Noddy, seemed scared at what her master was doing in the kitchen. She had barely ever seen him before where any work might need to be done, much less completing the work.

The blonde stood up straighter, and sneered at the elf, doing his best impression of his father. "What are you making for lunch?" He asked haughtily, looking at the elf as if she was below him.

"Noddy is making zucchini frittata and angel hair pasta!" Noddy stated excitedly, not even phased by the way the child was treating her.

Draco slumped, seeing no point in acting anymore, and asked, "Can I do something to help? I'm really bored and I need something to do."

Noddy seemed conflicted, and said, "I'm not sure that Master Malfoy would want to have Young Master in the kitchen..." She trailed off as she wrung her hands nervously.

"What do you mean?" Draco said, furrowing his eyebrows as he felt his pride was wounded. "Do you think I wouldn't be able to?"

"Of course not! It's just... The kitchen isn't meant for young ones like Master Draco..." Noddy spoke solemnly, hoping and praying that the blonde boy would leave so she could get back to lunch.

Draco reacted quickly, walking straight over to the oven, and standing on his tiptoes so he could see what's on the oven. "Here!" He exclaimed. "I can put this in the oven!"

Noddy panicked and wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't tell Draco to do anything, he was her master after all, but if he got hurt it would be her fault! Noddy began pulling on her ears as she watched, becoming more and more stressed by the second.

Draco reached up and grabbed the platter, and opened the oven. As he went to place the tray on the oven rack, the wave of heat that came and hit him took him by surprise and he let go of the tray in the midst of the panic. He also managed to burn himself when he tried to retract, and his arm hit the inside of the oven door that he hadn't shut yet.

"OW!" Draco yelled, scaring Noddy out of her wits as she finally snapped out of it and jumped into action.

Noddy ignored all of the food that the child had dumped on the inside of the oven and shut the oven door quickly and turning it off. She ran over to Draco who was sitting on the ground holding his arm. "Come to the tap, young master! We must get that burn under cool water!"

Draco looked at the elf and hesitated. This was her fault, he thought, not willing to damage his pride. He stood up daringly, flinching at the pain in his arm, and exclaimed, "My father will hear about this, you-you-you wretched slave!"

Noddy flinched and watched as young master ran out of the room, probably heading towards the dining room to inform Master Malfoy. Noddy put her head down and tried to clean as much of the food as she could from inside of the oven, burning her skin all over her face and arms in the process. But alas, that was the life of a house elf.

Draco ran to the dining room, not even thinking twice as he barged in. In the midst of the moment, he had forgotten that his father had a meeting in the dining room. "Father! That wretched house-elf burned me!"

The dining room was empty, as ever, save for two people sitting at the dining room table, his father, and a child that Draco couldn't recognize from where he was standing. Both heads turned towards Draco, and he almost fell backwards when piercing red eyes seemed to look into his soul.

His father stood up, acting quickly. "Draco!" Lucius snarled, looking angrier than his son had ever seen him before. "Get outside this instant."

Draco's eyes widened, but before turning around to leave, made eye contact with the hauntingly beautiful eyes looked at him again. He scurried out of the room and his father followed him out.

Once outside, Lucius stood loomingly over Draco, posing an extremely intimidating figure and making his son more afraid than he had ever been in his whole entire life.

"Draco, I believed you were smarter than that. I thought I had raised you on better morals than to storm into a room before knocking, especially if you knew I was in a meeting!" Lucius was losing his cool as his voice got louder over the course of the sentences.

"I-I'm sorry, father, I forgot." Draco stammered out, although he knew it wouldn't be enough to make it up to his father.

"That won't be enough this time. Your insolence may appear to be my incompetence, and I will not permit your behaviour any longer." Lucius spoke with deadly calm, before raising his hand and slapping Draco.

Draco fell to the ground, despite the fact that it was not a very hard hit, but the shock of the idea that his father had just hit him had completely jarred him. He held a hand to his cheek as tears welled up in his eyes.

His father glared at him. "We will speak more on this later, but I hope you've learned your lesson."

Lucius stalked back inside the room, and the last thing Draco heard before the door was shut was his father saying, "I'm so sorry for the disturbance. My son can be -" before the door shut behind him.

Draco leaned against the wall and blinked back tears, wondering why in the world the boy that his father had said was _the_ Harry Potter, was having a meeting with his father.

As the youngest Malfoy went to go find his mother, he realized that those stunning red eyes would forever be engrained in his memory.

Lucius Malfoy sat back down at the table with Harry Potter, and they continued their etiquette lesson.

Lucius knew that the Dark Lord would probably want to report back to him about how the meeting went, and if the child in front of him even mentioned Draco, chances were that another repeat offence of insolence from his son would not go unpunished by the Dark Lord.

He needed to learn his lesson now, or he would never learn at all.

"Now, where were we?" Lucius spoke politely, eyeing the deathly calm boy with an inquisitive look.

Harry turned his head, his mind whirring with interest, thinking about the boy that Lucius had called Draco, before saying, "I believe you were explaining the correct way to introduce yourself."

Lucius nodded in acknowledgement, before continuing the lesson as if nothing had happened, and everything else went perfectly.

After the lesson that day, Tom was informed of the whole lesson's detail, and he was not happy with Draco, but when Harry described what he had heard out in the hallway, he knew that he could trust Lucius to have a grip on his own son. If he didn't improve his discipline soon however, the Malfoy family would not go unpunished.

When Harry left and Lucius ate dinner with his family, Narcissa explained what had happened between Draco and Noddy.

That night, Noddy had her fingers broken and burnt underneath a clothing iron. The blame was fully placed on her.

"Harry," Tom said, surprising Harry who was sitting on a couch in the lounge area of the east wing of Callidus Manor. Harry quickly took note of the page he was on in Dark Spells for Beginners, and shut the book, before straightening up and turning his attention to his teacher.

Noticing that he had Harry's full attention, he announced, "We'll be taking a trip to Diagon Alley today. We need to get you a wand and books, so you can get started on the Hogwarts curriculum immediately.

Harry nodded, and asked, "When are we leaving?'

"Now should be fine. I just need to cast the glamours," Tom explained, before walking up to Harry and tapping him on the head. Harry felt like an egg had been cracked over his head, but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came.

Tom kneeled over and looked over Harry. "Hmm... Interesting... Your eyes didn't change."

After thinking for a moment, Harry realized exactly what he was talking about - he had cast a glamour, and everything had changed but his eyes. Tom continued, "It shouldn't be too large of an issue. Just don't look at anyone for too long or give them a reason to be interested. Got it?"

Harry nodded quickly and followed Tom as he turned on his heel and headed towards the floo. Tom quickly cast a glamour on himself, making himself brown-haired and blue-eyed, before getting in and exclaiming, "Diagon Alley!"

The pair quickly exited, and Harry followed Tom as he walked briskly towards a store called Flourish and Blotts. Tom barely allowed Harry any time to look around the alley - but what little Harry saw was amazing.

He knew of magic, but he wasn't aware of the hundreds, maybe even thousands, of capabilities that it offered to the user. He was also amazed by the lack of ambition of most of the wizards. What was the point of being given magical powers if you weren't going to master them to the best of your ability?

Walking into Flourish and Blotts was like heaven for Harry. Every single book contained knowledge - and knowledge truly is power. When Tom said that Harry could choose five books for himself to start with, Harry immediately walked to the 'Spells' section.

This section consisted of books that covered a large number of spells, taught how to cast them as well as the counters. There were several subsections, including Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry grabbed one from Charms, one from Transfiguration, and two on Defense Against the Dark Arts, thrilled by the idea that these four books could teach him more than 500 spells.

After finding his first four books, Harry headed to the history section and quickly found 'The Rise and Fall of All of the Dark Lords', which covered how dark lords came to power, and the mistakes that they made that caused them to fail. If Harry was going to make a mistake as Tom's right-hand, it definitely wouldn't be a mistake that had already been made.

Satisfied with his selection, Harry wandered the store, looking for Tom, before finally finding him in the transfiguration section.

"Ah, Harry, how did you search turn out?" Tom asked thoughtfully.

Harry showed him his selection, and it turned out that Tom approved. "Reminds me of myself when I was young," Tom remarked wistfully, "I wanted to learn as many spells as possible. Of course, you must understand the theory first before going about it yourself, but I'm sure you will be fine."

Heading to the checkout with five books and a copy of Transfiguration Today, the total came to 18 galleons and 20 sickles, which Tom begrudgingly agreed with - considering the size of the books, that was a decent price.

The pair headed over to Gringotts, as Tom wanted Harry to access his Potter vaults and see what his parents had left behind for him. Apparently, his parents had been quite wealthy and should have left him behind quite a fortune.

Walking up to Gringotts and observing the goblins was an interesting experience for Harry. He was quite impressed that magical creatures had retained such a good position - but then he realized that this was horrifying. Goblins lived for nothing more than to serve wizards. It was an awful reality, but that was the wizarding world.

They stood in line at Gringotts, behind a red-headed woman who had three children with her, all who looked to be the age to be going to Hogwarts. She had glanced at Harry and Tom, and when she made eye contact with Harry, she smiled, which he gracefully reciprocated, and she turned back to the children. Tom had sent Harry a nod to tell him that he had done the right thing.

Little did Harry know, Molly Weasley quickly reported back to Dumbledore letting him know that a child with red eyes was in Diagon Alley. At the very least, red eyes were suspicious, as vampires were very rare and it was especially rare to see one out during the day time.

When Harry and Tom reached the front of the line, Tom requested access to the Potter vault. This completely stunned the goblin who was helping them, and Tom asked if they could speak in a private place. The goblin quickly agreed and led them away to a private conference room, another goblin taking his place to tend to the line.

Tom let down the glamours, and the goblin looked at Harry with slightly widened eyes - a rare show of emotion for goblins according to the book that he had been reading. The goblin asked for the key, and Tom said that they didn't have it, but requested a blood test to confirm Potter lineage.

The goblin walked away to go get something, and Tom turned to Harry and said, "That woman in front of us was a Prewett, her brothers were killed in the last war. It is probable that she reported that she saw a child with red eyes in Diagon Alley to Dumbledore. Be expecting a confrontation."

Harry nodded, and the goblin walked back in with a piece of parchment. "In order to test your lineage, I must prick your finger and you must place the blood on this parchment. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Harry confirmed, ignoring the startled glance that the goblin shot him at the term of respect. Harry followed his instructions, pricking his finger, and a drop of blood fell onto the paper.

Within seconds, Harry's whole family tree began to expand from the drop of blood. It showed that in fact, Harry was related to the Potters, and confirmed his identity.

The goblin wasn't shocked, as he had expected it from the moment the glamours were dropped, and he asked whether or not Harry would like a new key made for the vault, rendering the past key useless.

Harry confirmed but was shocked when the goblin asked if he would like to cancel his monthly payments. "My monthly payments to who?"

The goblin looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands, and said, "It says here - a Mr. and Mrs. Dursley."

Rage welled up inside of Harry knowing the Dursleys had been paid to raise him, only to basically neglect him, but he put a leash around his emotions and calmed down. "I was not in control of these decisions being made. I would like any payments that are being made to be cut off - and would like to know who had been controlling my account."

Glancing back down to another sheet, the goblin sighed. "Albus Dumbledore, as your magical guardian, was to be in charge of your vault until you came to Gringotts for the first time."

Tom rubbed his temple with his fingers, and Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. Tom muttered, "Ah, of course, it would be him."

The goblin walked Tom and Harry back into the main room, asking another goblin to escort Harry and Tom to vault 687 while he made a new key for the vault.

After an eventful rollercoaster ride, in which Harry struggled to keep his composure while Tom did so seamlessly, they arrived at Harry's vault. And goddamn, it was a surprise.

Piles upon piles, although perhaps mountains would be a closer term, of gold lay in Harry's trust fund. Tom turned to the goblin who was leading them and asked, "Do you have an exact balance of the amount of gold in this vault?"

"No," The goblin admitted, "But when Rorken gives you your key, I'll make sure he gives you a summary of your account as well."

Tom thanked the goblin, and Harry quickly filled a bag that had a capacity much larger than it seemed with gold. They quickly took their leave.

The ride back was only slightly more tolerable than the way there, and the two of them quickly found themselves back with Rorken, who gave them the new key and the summary of Harry's account in a sealed letter.

"I recommend you open this at home, and to try your best to keep anyone from stealing it." The goblin instructed Harry, but he knew that Tom would take care of it and he wouldn't have anything to worry about.

They thanked the goblins for their help before heading over to Ollivanders, the letter and key in Tom's inner-jacket pocket.

Walking into Ollivanders had been an interesting experience for Harry. Magic permeated through the room, and it felt like he was walking into a room full of pure magic. Harry gave a small gasp of surprise at the feeling, and Tom shot Harry an inquisitive look, but no questions were asked.

"Ah," a man spoke as he walked from the back of the rows upon rows of cupboards to the front, where Tom and Harry were standing. "Mr. Potter... I wasn't expecting to see you quite so soon, much less with... Mr. Riddle..."

The man, assumedly Ollivander, was older, with wiry gray hair that seemed to stick up in all directions as if he had just been electrocuted. His face appeared ancient but incredibly wise. They seemed to have caused him immense confusion, as his face didn't show any composure at all, as his eyes darted between the two of them.

Tom smirked, unaffected at being called by his birth name. It seemed as if the man thought he would be angry or irrational, but in fact, he was completely unaffected. "Yes, we're here to get Mr. Potter here a wand. Would you mind helping us, we're in quite a hurry."

Mr. Ollivander placed his hands on the front counter, seeming to contemplate his decision, before sighing and nodding. "Of course. This establishment is completely neutral."

He approached Harry and gave him a look as if he was asking for permission to get his measurements. Harry gave a nod of approval, but the man still seemed hesitant. Perhaps Ollivander was against vampires?

He turned on his heel after completing his measurements and walked through the aisles of small thin boxes, muttering to himself, picking one off every once and piling them up in his arms. He made his way back up the front and began handing boxes to Harry.

Some wands seemed to react violently with his magic, and whenever they did, Ollivander would shoot a worried look his way. One had even set a bookshelf on fire, and one had put a hole in the room, which was quickly fixed by Tom.

Ollivander stood in front a row at the back, sighed, and let his head drop as if in deep contemplation. He grabbed four boxes and brought them over to the desk.

He handed the first one, and watched intensely, as Harry opened it up. He almost seemed to be holding his breath as Harry took the wand in his hand.

It had a cold, dull feeling, and seemed to almost want to get away from his hand. It clattered to the ground, and Harry shook his hand, wanting the cold, dead feeling to leave his hand. Looking at Ollivander, he seemed disappointed, and almost scared.

"Rowan, 12 inches, springy, with a unicorn hair core," Ollivander muttered, rushing around the front desk and picking up the wand, quickly inspecting the wand for damage before putting it back in the box, as if wanting to get the wand away from Harry as quickly as possible.

Harry looked back at Tom, who was sitting in the chair behind him, and his face had a wicked grin on it as if he was deeply pleased by it. Harry could only guess that he would explain later and turned back to Ollivander.

The next box had a gold engraving along the edges in a fancy design. Harry opened it and picked it up. This one was better than the last, but Harry grimaced at the odd feeling he got and rubbed his forehead as a sudden strange pain appeared in his hand. "No," Harry murmured. "That's definitely not it."

Ollivander took it back, and hurriedly placed it back in the box. He flinched when Tom's voice took a curious undertone as he asked, "What was that wand?"

Closing his eyes momentarily as if in defeat, Ollivander said, "11 inches, holly, with a phoenix feather core."

"Hm," Tom hummed curiously. "Why did you think that might work for him?"

The old man took a deep breath. "I believed it might work because... The phoenix feather comes from the same wand as yours..."

Tom smirked but didn't ask any more questions, much to Ollivander's obvious relief.

The next wand was perfect. The moment Harry touched it, he gasped at the rush of power that rushed through him. He picked it up, and felt the build-up of magic, but controlled it effortlessly, the wand responding to him easily. This clearly surprised Ollivander, as Harry said, "This is definitely it."

Harry placed it back in the box, and Ollivander looked slightly crestfallen, but covered it easily, "Ah, a good wand. 12 and a half inches, aspen wood, with a dragon heartstring core. Good for duelling, and Defense Against the... Dark Arts." ***1**

Ollivander's eyes shifted uneasily in between Tom and Harry, but he moved on to the cash register and said, "That'll be 12 galleons please."

Hesitantly, Harry asked, "May I try the other wand you had out for me to try?"

Lips pursed, Ollivander said, "Your wand had chosen you already, Mr. Potter, are you sure? This could have unexpected side affects."

Harry nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."

With a sigh, Ollivander handed Harry the wand box. As Harry opened the box, Ollivander said, "This is actually a wand manufactured by Violetta Beauvais, it was given to me she passed. We were very close friends and all of her unused wands were included in her will to be sold at my shop."

Harry picked up this wand, and while he felt as if the other wand had connected with his magic, this one connected with his mind. He felt as if this wand understood him. The connection that had been created between the wand and the user in just a few seconds was astounding.

"Interesting, I must say. That wand is 14 inches and made of beech wood, with a Rougarou hair at its core. I never use Rougarou hairs in my wands, but Violetta was quite fond of them." Ollivander said. His words indicated that he was surprised, but his countenance did not reflect that.

Tom stood briskly, before walking over to observe the wand. He nodded appreciatively, before asking, "And what does that core indicate about the wand?"

"The reason I do not use Rougarou hairs is that they are known to have a dark affinity, although its affinity is truly decided by the user." Ollivander sent Harry a meaningful look as if advising him against dark magic, but Harry remained stoic.

"Now," Ollivander said, clearly wanting to change the subject. "The price will be 27 galleons for the two."

Harry dug through his bag of money for the proper amount but stopped when Tom said, "May I try that wand with the phoenix feather core?"

Ollivander looked as if he wanted very badly to say no, but handed Tom the wand. Tom showed no outward reactions, but if Harry could tell anything from the gleaming look in Tom's eyes, the wand was good - no - almost perfect. His words confirmed Harry's theory; "We'll take it."

Tom quickly paid the sum of 39 galleons for all three, which Harry quickly thanked him for. The pair went to walk out of the store, only to find that someone else was walking through the door right as they were leaving.

Tom's eyes narrowed, and he snarled out, "Dumbledore."

Harry was surprised but tried his best to show no reaction as the aged wizard with a long beard walked in. Dumbledore entered, and took one look at Tom, and smiled lightly, before saying, "Ah, Tom, it's very nice to see you again. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

The tension in the air was thick, as Tom showed no sign of responding. Dumbledore saw this and decided to continue the conversation himself, turning to Harry.

"And this must be Harry. It's very nice to meet you, after all, it has been a while. I don't think I've seen you since the night after your parents were killed. You look quite different, you've grown up quite well. You look quite a bit like your father, although you have your mother's-" Dumbledore paused, glancing up at Harry's eyes. "Cheekbones."

Curiosity sparked inside of Harry, as he had no idea of what had happened to his parents. All Tom had told him was that after his parent's deaths, Dumbledore had been the one responsible for placing him with the Dursleys. He also noted that either Dumbledore could see through his glamour, or the glamour had been cancelled, either by Dumbledore or by Tom himself.

Harry looked over at Tom, whose eyes displayed no emotion that Harry could discern as he looked at Dumbledore hatefully.

Looking back at Dumbledore, the man looked straight at his eyes and held his gaze, which surprised Harry immensely, usually, people looked away the moment they saw his eyes.

Tom barked out, "Don't look at his eyes, Harry. He can get into your mind."

Harry's eyes darted to the floor, but he feared it was too late.

"Hm, very interesting indeed. Attacked by a vampire in Surrey, I never could have possibly predicted this could have happened," Dumbledore muttered as if he was the only person there.

Flinching at the mention of the attack, Harry berated himself for not knowing better. Although it hadn't forced him to see the memories this time, Harry knew was the same thing that Tom had done to him when they had first met.

"Has Tom told you the story of what happened to your parents yet, Harry? I imagine he'll have to at some point," Dumbledore spoke softly as if the story was a story between old friends.

Harry was _very_ confused.

In a split second, Tom leaped into action, pushing Harry to the side, and firing a spell at Dumbledore. Harry fell to the ground roughly, surprised at Tom's sudden actions. He had never seen him act so quickly - yet somehow he still retained the same amount of grace as he did when he was calm.

Dumbledore blocked the spell, but by the time he was ready to fire back, Tom had nonverbally used a spell to shatter the windows and sent all of the glass shards flying at Dumbledore. Ollivander, who had been silently watching the altercation from behind his desk, jumped behind his desk, letting out a small yelp at the sudden commotion taking place in his shop.

Tom turned to Harry, with more seriousness than he had ever spoken to Harry before, "Run, go back to the manor."

Harry felt fear grip his heart, but he did as Tom said. He grabbed his bag of money and his wands, and ran, jumping through the now broken window and sprinting down the Alley. He could hear the sounds of the battle from behind him, but he ignored it to the best of his ability.

People moved out of the way, although some were more hesitant than others. The red-headed woman from earlier had been looking at the battle, but when Harry had tried to run past her, she looked shocked and wasn't sure how to react. They made eye contact for a split second, and in that second it was clear to Harry that this woman did not want to harm a child and she let him go.

He continued to sprint, and when he reached the floo station, he saw a raggedy-looking man who looked terribly exhausted who seemed to be guarding the floo. The rest of the people had gone to see what was going on at Ollivanders, except for this man. Harry stopped, and this man looked over at him.

They made eye contact, and the man looked very surprised but also very sad. Harry felt as if he recognized this man from somewhere as if they had spent a lot of time together in the past, even though he had no memory of this man. Harry asked, "Who are you?"

Harry turned his head in curiosity, and the man pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows, looking completely distraught. "I'm very sorry, Harry." Harry was very confused until the man raised his wand and Harry's eye widened. " _Stupefy._ "

An odd feeling of betrayal welled up in Harry's heart, but he knew that if he was going down, he would do as much as he could to get away. After hours of training with dodging before Tom had deemed him ready for a wand, dodging a simple stunner was child's play.

Harry side-stepped, ruining the dramatic tension of the scene completely. The man narrowed his eyes, almost in confusion, before he tried again, and Harry dodged it. Harry knew that once you were in the floo, there was an automatic shield set up so there was no interference with the connection.

Feeling a strange urge, Harry reached into his pocket and grabbed his beech wand, the one that felt as if it had a connection with his mind, and did as he felt the wand told him to do. He pulled his wand behind his head and pointed it back at the man, almost as if he was releasing a lasso.

To Harry's extreme surprise, a spell that he had seen Tom demonstrate a few days earlier came from his wand. A red line that almost looked like electricity, jagged and constantly fluctuating, wrapped around the man.

The man screamed out in pain, yet Harry found he didn't want to hurt him. "I'm sorry about this!" Harry shouted, before launching the man in the direction of the crowd that was watching the duel at Ollivanders, that seemed to still be going strong. A few heads turned back to look at where the man had come flying from, but the duel had most of their undivided attention.

Harry ran into the floo, praying for no more inconveniences, and grabbed the floo power before shouting, "Callidus Manor, East Wing!" and throwing the floo powder down.

Within seconds, Harry found himself on the floor in front of the floo at Callidus Manor, because he hadn't had Tom to catch him.

Walking to the lounge numbly, Harry was shocked at how worried he was for Tom's safety.

Harry sat down on the couch, and for the first time since the Dursleys, Harry lost all composure and began to sob, almost as if he was begging for the man that he had depended on for the last month and a half.

Jeez, longest chapter yet! Although I guess we're not too far into it yet, but I was surprised at how long this turned out! Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment/review, it'll make me update faster and I love knowing your thoughts on the story!

 ***1** \- When Ollivander says that his first wand is good for "Defense Against the Dark Arts", the truth is that the wand is ideal for duelling - dark or light, but because DADA is a Hogwarts subject, it's what he's typically used to saying.

Also, if you're curious about the meaning of Harry's wands, here they are:

Wand #1 is aspen wood with a dragon heartstring core.

Aspen Wood: The proper owner of the aspen wand is often accomplished or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic.

Dragon Heartstring Core: Powerful, easy to learn spells though can easily be committed to another owner

And Wand #2 is beech wood with a Rougarou hair.

Beech Wood: The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond his or her years, and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant. When properly matched, the beech wand is capable of a subtlety and artistry not seen in any other wood, hence it's lustrous reputation.

Rougarou hair (The Violetta thing was actually true, Ollivander did not make wands with this, only Violetta Beauvais, an American wandmaker, did): Rumoured to have an affinity for Dark magic, although suitable for use by non-Dark wizards and witches as well


	5. 5 - Explaining

Tom Riddle fought against Dumbledore with one thing in mind; stall for Harry.

If there was anything that Tom absolutely wouldn't allow to happen that day in Diagon Alley, it would be Dumbledore getting his young apprentice. It was absolutely vital to Tom's plans that, even at the risk of Tom's own health, Harry could _not_ be taken or killed.

The battle at Ollivander's was extremely tense, yet very cramped. It was much more of a challenge that they were fighting in - and around - Ollivander's store, and despite the old man claiming he was neutral, he was throwing spells when Tom's back was turned.

" _Avada Kedavra_ ," Tom muttered, aiming it straight at Garrick Ollivander and sneering slightly when it hit the old man right in the chest, causing him to barrel over.

Other than relieving a minor annoyance, this did little to help the problem. In fact, it made it worse.

Dumbledore seemed horrified at the death of the man, and came at Tom with full intent to kill.

Powerful spells were being thrown back and forth, amazing transfigurations back and forth, but Dumbledore wasn't quite up to Tom's par. Tom was fully casting non verbally (save for the unforgivables), with even the occasional wandless spell, while Dumbledore was casting about half verbally and half non-verbally.

Tom was getting fed up, he had thought that Dumbledore would be close to his own strength - but apparently he had overestimated the old man, or the ritual he had used to return had been more successful than he had every believed it could have been.

After about five minutes of duelling, Tom realised that the aurors would arrive soon, and stopped. He put up a shield and said, "Goodbye, Albus. I suppose I'll see you next time, although I hope by then you'll have practised a little bit."

Dumbledore was breathing heavily, and now that no more spells were being exchanged, his low stamina was catching up with him. Tom cast a bone-breaking curse at the man, before disapparating.

Albus collapsed with a feeble yell of pain, having been unable to dodge the curse quickly enough. The crowd that had grown over the course of the duel, and when Tom finally left, several of them swarmed the fallen wizard.

"Someone call St. Mungo's!" Molly Weasley exclaimed, clearly panicked at the state of her leader. When she saw that someone had complied with her request, the aurors arrived on the scene.

Within minutes, Albus Dumbledore was whisked to the hospital, where he was healed within 24 hours. But the wizarding world would take much longer than that to heal from the wound that was reopened by Voldemort's return.

Tom sighed as he made the walk back to the manor from outside of the anti-apparition wards. He was extremely worried, although he would never say it aloud, about Harry, but was confident that the boy had made it out.

After all, he had noticed the man who had flown towards the duel from the area where the floo station was.

When Tom made it to the lounge, he was extremely relieved to find Harry lying on the couch, fast asleep after what must have been a very exhausting ordeal for an eight-year child. It was clear from the tear tracks down his face that he had been distraught, and an odd feeling rose up in Tom's heart as he saw the small boy.

Instinctively, Tom reached down and brushed some of his messy hair out of his eyes. He was shocked, however, to see that his infamous lightning bolt scar was healing.

Tom's mind rushed to many conclusions in seconds, although most were outlandish theories. How could a magical scar heal? Perhaps the transformation from human to vampire had caused it? After all, vampires were known for extraordinary healing skills.

Pondering on this, Tom shook the boy's shoulder lightly, waking him abruptly from his short nap.

Harry's eyes opened in shock, and he jumped up. He quickly observed his surrounding, and when he saw Tom standing in front of him, he exclaimed, "Tom!"

Within seconds, there was a child wrapped around Tom's middle section, much to the older man's surprise. Harry's voice was muffled as he said, "You're alright! I was so worried!"

Tom smiled slightly, and ruffled Harry's hair. "You don't need to worry about me, Harry. Dumbledore's no match for me."

Harry pulled away, and gave Tom a questioning look. "Did you kill him?"

"No, although I did kill the wand-maker."

"Ollivander?" Harry asked inquisitively. "Why him?

"He was being a nuisance," Tom said impetuously, before turning and sitting on the couch across from the couch where Harry had been sitting. "Now, onto more important matters, put your wands on the table."

Harry complied without hesitation, which made Tom happy to see he was so trusting in him.

Tom picked up the first wand, scrunching up his nose in displeasure at the feeling that shot through his bones as he felt the wand. He observed the material, length, and details of the wood itself, before explaining to Harry what everything meant.

"Ah, this is the aspen wand? Very good..." Toying with the wand, seemingly testing the weight as he tossed it from hand to hand, he admired the craftsmanship that went into the wand. "Aspen wood shows that you have great potential, Harry... It also shows that it will be very good with offensive and defensive spells."

Harry watched on in admiration as he watched Tom recognise the many properties and traits of a wand just by a few characteristics. Tom continued, "Ah, now the core - less interesting, but of the three generic cores that Ollivander uses, this is probably the best. Of course, that depends on your definition of a good wand. A dragon heartstring core indicates that the wand is very powerful, but isn't particularly loyal, so if another person were to disarm you - they could easily use your wand. But this shouldn't matter, as long as you don't get disarmed."

Tom gave Harry a sharp look at the end, and Harry smirked a little bit.

Picking up the next wand, Tom seemed much more satisfied with this one. "Alas, this wand is one that I would never imagine to be in Ollivander's clutches. Violetta Beauvais... She was very famous for her wands, but she was the subject of much controversy when it was discovered that the wand core that she always used was revealed as Rougarou hair. Rougarou hair is infamous for being dark, although it does work for light wizards as well.

"And this is... Beech wood? I hadn't noticed this in the shop... This is a very good sign. Beech wood only chooses a master that is wise beyond their years, and works very well for people who are able to see all sides of conflict, and can understand what they are stepping into before stepping into it. It should be good for more nonchalant magic."

Putting the second wand back on the table, Tom observed the two closely.

"Very nice wands, Harry. These are both good in opposite areas. If you are duelling, the aspen wand would be ideal, offering more power behind martial magic. Now, the beech wand is perfect for nonverbal magic, and is very convenient for non-battle magic, although it would work very well in almost all situations it would be put in. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded quickly, silently proud of his wands as he heard Tom praise them. He felt like he had a connection with both of them, and couldn't even imagine how he would feel if one of his wands were destroyed so soon after getting them. "Yes, I understand."

Tom allowed silence to reign the previously one-sided conversation. "Do you have any questions about our... encounter... with Dumbledore?"

Grimacing slightly, Harry gave a small nod, and asked, "Wh- What did happen to my parents?"

"Ah, of course... You ask the question that is the most difficult to answer," Tom spoke, appearing to be reminiscing about something from the past in his mind.

Despite his reluctance, he explained. "Well... Back at the end of the last war, I had split up my soul into several different part, and was less of myself than I had ever been. I was not in my right mind - I was completely consumed by blood-lust and my want for power. I'm different now, Harry. Do you understand that?"

Nodding, Harry listened intently. He wasn't sure why Tom was trying to compensate so much.

"At the height of the war, when I was very close to taking over, a prophecy was made. A prophecy that I never received fully, but I know that it spoke of a child who is born at the end of July, whose parents had defied me three times, that had the power to defeat me," Tom spoke darkly, before snarling, " _The power the dark lord knows not.._."

"There were two children that could fit that bill - Harry Potter, son of Lily and James Potter, and Neville Longbottom, the son of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Since I wasn't sure of which one was the child of the prophecy, I decided to eliminate them both."

Harry's jaw dropped. Tom had tried to... kill him? How could he do that to a baby? Staying silent, Harry listened attentively, wanting to know the rest of the story.

Noticing Harry's shock, Tom quickly continued, not wanting to give the child a chance to interject. "I went after the Potters on Halloween of 1981. Your parents were under a charm, the Fidelius Charm, that allowed them to keep the location of their home under heavy wraps - but I had a spy in their midst, and he sold them out."

"I stormed in, killed James, before going upstairs and killing Lily as well, who was trying to protect you. I then cast the killing curse at you, but somehow you survived, and the spell was cast back at me."

At this point, Harry was unable to stop the tears from running down his face. He desperately tried to wipe away every tear that showed up, but found that he was completely unable of hiding it, much less stopping it.

"But, Harry, before you make any assumptions, I am extremely regretful of how I acted in the past. I was completely irrational, but now I am whole again. I underwent a ritual that restored all of the parts of my soul that I took out of my body, into my body. I am now back to my level-headed self, and I regret nothing more than how I handled the prophecy situation." Tom spoke with an emotional vulnerability that Harry had not seen in the time that he knew Tom.

"It's... It's okay," Harry whispered. "I... I didn't know them, and now, you're taking care of me, right? You don't want to kill me anymore, right?"

Tom's heart felt incredibly saddened as he looked at the boy that he felt quite fond of already collapsing in front of his eyes. Earlier that day, the boy had placed a well-formed facade over his true personality, but that facade had been completely destroyed after Tom and Dumbledore's battle. "Of course not, Harry. Of course not."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Harry slumped a little bit. Tom moved over to Harry, but having no experience in comforting people, he just put his arm around the eight-year-old.

Harry let loose, all of his resistance to his emotions coming undone completely. He wrapped his small, skinny arms around Tom's waist, and sobbed into his robes.

Tom was shocked, but released the tension he had been holding onto, relaxing his posture. He rubbed Harry's back lightly, hoping it would calm him.

Little did either of them know, this was the start of a very important relationship between the two of them.

OoOoOoOoO

Remus Lupin was horrified. Not only had he just attacked the one link he had left to his deceased best friend, but the child had casually just thrown him! Thrown him! Over a crowd! What eight-year-old could do that?

Sitting around the table in the Burrow was an odd experience. Lupin had never been in the Burrow before, save for the one previous Order meeting, and he found that there wasn't a lot of room for everyone.

Dumbledore stood at the head of the table, clearly fuming as he looked over the measly remains of the organisation that once held a candle to the darkness that was Voldemort.

"I've called you all here to inform you of the result of the ambush in Diagon Alley," Dumbledore started, meeting Remus' eyes briefly, causing the young man to flinch.

This statement had everyone's attention. As the duel had just happened, none of them, save for Molly and Remus, had been aware of the battle in Diagon Alley. They had all been on watch for Harry Potter, because Dumbledore had told them that wherever Harry would be, Voldemort would be, but they hadn't been aware that someone had had a sighting.

"I would first, like to thank Molly, for reporting in so quickly when she caught sight of Harry," Dumbledore stated, nodding his head in respect to Molly. She blushed very deeply, as polite applause erupted from around the table.

Once silenced, Dumbledore continued, "I arrived in Diagon Alley and quickly found that Voldemort and Harry had been in Ollivander's. I asked Remus, who I brought along with me, to guard the floo, and proceeded to confront the pair." Gasps went out throughout the Order, most were surprised that they had not yet heard about the, what must have been, historic battle between Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort himself.

"After exchanging a few words, Voldemort attacked, and we battled. Unfortunately, both Voldemort and Harry escaped." Dumbledore spoke, pretending as if he had never said that Remus was supposed to have been guarding Harry's exit. A few glances were shot in Remus' direction, but that was it.

Dumbledore observed the group, clearly very hesitant to say what he was about to say.

"Voldemort is more powerful, and more clear-minded, than he was at any point during the last war." This statement was met with gasps of shock, and many jaws dropping.

"Our numbers need to rise, and fast. Anyone who works in the ministry, please covertly try to get as many recruits as you can to contact me. Everyone else, spread the word that the Order of the Phoenix is looking for members. We need to reach our to this years graduating class at Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons, as well as any other magical schools that might have prospects. Anyone you think might be interested, tell them to contact me _immediately_. Do you all understand?" Dumbledore spoke more seriously than most people at the table had ever seen him, and they all nodded in assent.

Names of people who might consider joining were running through the minds of all of the members, as they prepared to obey Dumbledore's command to the best of their ability.

"Unless anyone else had anything else to say," Dumbledore said, pausing briefly, "Then this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix is adjourned."

OoOoOoOoO

"The pieces of my soul were put into objects, and those objects were called horcruxes," Tom explained.

The day after the news broke of Voldemort's return and his duel with Dumbledore, Tom found himself surprisingly unaffected emotionally. All this indicated was that he would need to gather his forces much faster than he had initially believed.

Harry watched as Tom explained the theory behind horcruxes with a surprising amount of intrigue.

"Now," Tom said, "What you must understand it that one of my horcruxes was made completely accidentally. My final horcrux was actually... you."

Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion, looking at Tom as if he had thrown a third head. Thoughts whirred through his head, up until the moment when realisation hit him like a truck. Harry's hand flew to his forehead. He gasped, "No..."

Tom nodded, "Yes, very good. However, since I performed the ritual, it seems the horcrux had healed. But, another theory is that when you became a vampire, the horcrux was destroyed. I'm not sure which theory is correct."

"I think that it might have been destroyed on the night of the attack. I remember an awful pain in my head after being bitten, it almost felt like a piece of me was being torn out..." Harry spoke quietly... he always hated speaking about his attack.

Nodding in understanding, Tom said, "The second theory it is, then."

Harry smiled, before asking, "So, when can we start my training?"

OoOoOoOoO

A sudden burning pain ripped through Lucius Malfoy's arm, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping in agony. Luckily, he was just in his office and not in public, or else the consequences could've been atrocious to Lucius' political career.

 _The Dark Lord!_ Lucius thought, _He's summoning the Death Eaters!_

A grin spread across his face, before he briskly walked out his study towards his bedroom. Entering the room, he found Narcissa on the bed, reading peacefully in her night gown. She looked at him over her book and asked, "What has you in such a rush, Lucius?"

Lucius spoke quickly, as he put on his Death Eater robes, "The dark lord has summoned me. I believe that because of the duel between him and Dumbledore, he has decided to start rebuilding our forces."

Narcissa's eyes widened, and she responded, "Really? You must let me know how it goes. I can only imagine that many of the others won't return."

"You are correct," Lucius said with a suspicious smirk. "But any of the ones who betray us will most likely be dealt with swiftly. I am excited to see the approach he takes to leading now that his power is stronger than ever, and his needless blood-lust is gone."

His wife nodded, and wished him luck, before Lucius briefly lifted the anti-apparition wards on Malfoy Manor and allowed his dark mark to apparate him.

The hall in the west wing where all the Death Eaters were meeting was incredibly large, but also very empty. It was enough to fit about 300 people, Lucius estimated, observing the room.

By the time Lucius arrived, only about 20 other Death Eaters had arrived, but within five minutes, at least 60 were present in the hall.

All the Death Eaters were roaming amongst themselves, discussing the return of the Dark Lord and speaking with no small level of excitement about what is to come for the dark.

Once the number of people entering the hall slowed down, the dark lord decided to announce himself.

The moment the dark lord entered the hall - silence took over the whole room. Nobody dared make a sound, afraid of how ruthless their leader had been at the end of the last war.

Voldemort stepped up onto the slightly elevated stage that was in the corner of the room, and looked over the crowd, impressed by how many people came to show their support despite how long ago the last war ended.

"I must say..." The dark lord drawled, "I'm impressed with how many came out today to show their support."

Many death eaters looked proud that their lord was happy with them, but the rest kept their stoic facade. They knew their lord well enough to know that his mood swings were monstrous.

"Now, today we must discuss many things. First of all, at the end of the last war, I was reckless. I wanted blood, and wanted the death of the light, and would do anything to achieve it. Now, while blood and death of the light are things we want, and will get, we cannot be reckless. Do you all understand this?" Voldemort spoke like a teacher explaining something to a class, yet he had the whole audience's rapt attention.

All of the death eaters either nodded, or responded with a murmured, "Yes, my lord."

"By now, Dumbledore is definitely rebuilding his forces. We need to as well, but we need to reach further. We need to contact everyone we know of that has a dark - or perhaps on the dark side of neutral - affinity, and reach out to them. Tell them to join the side of the war that is going to win. If they don't agree, kill them, and if they do, contact a member of the inner circle, who will inform me. If you do not manage to find anyone - you will be punished, and the more people you bring in - the more you will be rewarded." Voldemort explained his system slowly, so his followers would absorb every word would be understood. "If someone gets us enough members, they will be considered for the inner circle."

Small murmurs and whispers spread throughout the crowd, most determined, but some were nervous.

"I will also be setting up a training program. Even during the last war, most of you were not up to par for your skill level. If we are going to defeat the light - and we _are_ going to - we need bigger numbers, and better skills. I recommend you all begin training by yourselves now - because once the training program is ready, you will all be sorted into three sections. Advanced, applied, and... remedial." He finished with a sneer, a look of shame sent through the crowd to make them feel as if they needed to get into, at least, the applied group.

"That is everything for now. Expect to be summoned again in roughly 2-3 weeks, most likely you will be separated into separate groups. Everyone is dismissed, except for the members of the inner circle." He finished with a flourish, which was met with many of the people there apparating away.

Only about three quarters of the original sixteen of the inner circle remained. The rest were either imprisoned or dead. Tom was pleasantly surprised to see that that many of them were still alive. He smirked to himself knowingly, as he remembered how Wormtail - that bloody coward - had died; by his own hand.

Looking over the group, he knew that the group would need some training - and that a raid of Azkaban would soon be necessary.

One particular death eater caught his eye. Severus Snape. Tom was fairly sure that Snape had been a spy for the light by the end of the last war. If Tom still had his previous state of mind, he definitely wouldn't have thought twice before killing him. But now, Tom needed to consider his options. He would give Snape the option between spying for the light, or death. If he chose the former, he would be required to swear an Unbreakable Vow to show his loyalty.

"What I said to the rest should be just as enforced among you. If anyone contacts you saying they wish to join, or knows someone who wishes to join, convey their message to me. Keep track, or else. Also, all of you will be immediately be accepted into the advanced group - and if you don't think you are good enough, then you need to get good enough." Tom spoke frankly as if their were not aching question in each of his followers minds and as if no time had passed between now and the last meeting.

They all nodded, listening attentively. "Another thing I need to address is that I have taken in a ward, who I am hoping will be my second in command once I deem him ready."

Everyone, save for Lucius, was completely shocked. Avery spoke first, not even thinking as he said, "A- A ward?"

Tom sneered mercilessly, "Yes, a ward. Not only do I believe he has the potential to be great, but he will be easily malleable and I should not have any issues with bringing him to greatness. I want some of you, who are particularly skilled in some subjects, to train him in those subjects. Particularly Severus, in potions, although you are the only one I am sure of as of yet."

Snape's eyes widened slightly. He had been sure that the dark lord was aware of how he had been a spy - but perhaps he hadn't been? He highly doubted the dark lord could be so oblivious. He nodded in confirmation, he would do what his lord wished, but he knew that that wouldn't be the only thing they would have to be discussing.

"Now, that is all. Severus, Lucius, please remain." Tom spoke, uncaring.

The rest of the inner circle disapparated, leaving only three men in the vast hall that only minutes ago was filled with several dozen people.

"Severus, as I'm sure you are aware, or have at least suspected, my ward is Harry Potter. Before we discuss anything more, we must address the issues of your loyalty - or lack thereof." Tom was nonchalant, despite the fact that he was talking about a very serious issue.

Snape thought for a moment, his calmness surprisingly even himself, before beginning, "I apologise deeply for my treachery in the past, and I wish to declare my full and undying loyalty to the dark."

Tom smirked, looking on in approval. "Lucius, if you will be the witness and third party?"

Lucius nodded briskly, taking out his wand. Tom held out his hand, and Snape took it without hesitation.

"Do you, Severus, swear to have undying loyalty for the dark and to me, Lord Voldemort?" Tom asked, giving the standard beginning to the Unbreakable Vow questions.

"I do"

"Do you swear to report any and all things of importance to me that are spoken by any member of the Order of the Pheonix or an ally of the light, Albus Dumbledore included?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to never attempt to inflict harm against myself or my ward, Harry James Potter, soon to be Riddle?"

"... I do."

Wisps began coming out of the end of Lucius' wand and circling around the two other men's hand, and both men spoke simultaneously, "So mote it be."

The magic wrapped itself around their hands, before sinking into their hands. Tom released his hand, and grinned deviously, which sent a shudder of fear down Snape's spine.

"Perfect, thank you Lucius, you are free to go." Tom said, nodding in dismissal to Lucius.

Lucius murmured, "Thank you, my lord," before apparating away.

"Now, Severus," Tom said with a smirk, "Allow me to introduce you to my ward, Harry."

Tom led Snape out of the room, one of them feeling extreme anticipation, and the other in dread.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Reviews are very appreciated! Thanks so much for reading!


	6. 6 - Attacking

Within a years time, the difference in wizarding Britain was obvious.

I would be a nigh impossible task to try and find a wizard who had not yet aligned themselves with the light or the dark - and most would say they were aligned with the light.

Despite the fact that the numbers were definitely in favour of the light, the power of the dark was much more threatening. Also, the number of dark wizards everywhere else in Europe far exceeded the light, because the light was too close-minded than to reach out internationally, while the dark were aware that most of the wizards in Britain were completely influenced by Dumbledore.

The training program that Voldemort introduced to the dark was incredibly effective. Despite the fact that both Dumbledore and Voldemort had the same approach to recruitment (not counting whether they reached nationally or internationally), Voldemort's step further with the training program completely changed the game.

The average skill of each individual member of the dark, politically or magically, far surpassed the average of power of a member of the light. This was the one fact that Voldemort needed to be reaffirmed before he prepared for his attack on Azkaban.

Standing in front of a group of roughly 200, now only a fraction his forces of about 1500, Voldemort watched to crowd in front of him in hidden pride.

After a year of training, he believed that the remedial group of his training program combined would be able to break into Azkaban and reclaim all of his members that had been imprisoned.

Using a strategy that he definitely thought was fool-proof, he would send his weakest members instead of his most powerful to retrieve all of his members. In the very worst case scenario, he would weaken the guards at Azkaban substantially and improve the overall average of skill in the death eaters.

"Tonight, I have gathered you all here to inform you of the attack that will be taking place tonight. When I dismiss you tonight, you will all be going to lead an attack on Azkaban. Twilight squad, you will be lead by Avery. Tenebrious squad, you will be lead by Snape. Noctis squad, you will be lead by Nott. Everyone move onto the side of their respective leader." Tom spoke calmly, as he watched everyone shuffle around.

"Now, each group will be taking separate paths, and I will allow your leaders to explain. We will have a meeting discussing the results of the assault tomorrow evening. Good luck, and serve me well." Tom finished, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

A smirk rested on Tom's face, as he walked back to his study, anticipating the news that he would receive in a few hours.

"Ah... Perfect, as expected," Tom muttered as he sat on the couch, the newspaper in his hands as he read through the article.

Harry looked over to his mentor, quirking an eyebrow, but showing little to no emotion despite anticipating the results of the assault that he had helped plan. He already knew it had been a success, but the Daily Prophet would be able to give the specifics. "How was it?"

Tom nodded, clearly satisfied as his eyes flicked through the article, and when he finished he answered Harry's question, saying, "Out of 342 prisoners, 270 joined us, and the rest got the dementor's kiss. 32 aurors were killed, and eight escaped. I'm not sure if we had any casualties, but Avery, Nott, and Snape should be here soon to give me their report."

Satisfied, the nine-year-old nodded. In the past year, Harry had improved substantially for one of his age. Tom had told him that he was at the end of second-year curriculum-wise, but his duelling skills were better than most, if not all, in that age group. Harry wasn't satisfied with these results - not yet, at least. He needed more if he wanted to be able to defend himself and aid Tom in his cause.

The conversation continued for a few minutes back and forth, as they discussed the attack and how it had been executed, before the sound of the floo going off three times alerted them to the leaders of team Tenebrious, Noctis, and Twilight squad's arrival.

Tom stood, and gestured for Harry to follow him before going to greet them in the hall and lead them to the West Wing. He never allowed anybody into the East Wing as that was for him and his ward only. It would ruin the intimidation factor at least slightly if they saw that his living quarters were so... normal.

As the pair entered the hallway, the three members of the inner circle bowed, all of them saying, "My lord," in synchronization. Tom nodded for them to stand, and they obeyed, before barking out a quick command of, "Follow me to the West Wing."

The four followed their leader, none of the other adults affected by the fact that a nine-year-old was going to be present at their meeting. They had all met Harry and understood that he was not to be messed with, lest they desire a quick death from the Dark Lord.

Arriving in a small dining room, which wasn't to be expected from the leader of the dark, but it didn't bother any of them. The room looked unused, yet impeccably clean. It was obvious that house elves had been their recently - for not a speck of dust was apparent on any of the shelved surrounding the table and everything was perfectly set up.

Tom sat at the head of the table, with Harry and Snape sitting on his right side, and Avery and Nott sitting on his left. To Harry, it was clear that the seating arrangement showed who Tom held in the highest regards. He knew that his mentor held a rare amount of trust in Severus, while he barely even trusted Nott to be the leader of a team for a mission that he wouldn't mind if it failed.

"Severus, please give me a report on how the Tenebrious squad performed throughout the attack," Tom ordered, giving Snape his full attention.

Snape began promptly, his voice unwavering as he described the events of the previous night. "Everything went smoothly, my lord. The Tenebrious squad effectively and efficiently wiped out the aurors and raided the three main levels of the prison. Some standouts of the night were Arham Rosales, Claire Bannister, and Idris Crowther. They all performed admirably, and I believe they have the skill to be promoted to the applied group. In our group, out of 70 prisoners liberated, 64 came with us. 12 of them were death eaters from the first war. We had 15 injuries and 3 deaths."

Nodding as he comprehended the potions master's words, Tom finally said, "Inform the four you named to report to the manor immediately once this meeting is over. Avery?"

Avery cleared his throat and straightened in his seat, earning a sharp look from Harry and Snape who were now watching him in interest. Such an obvious show of uncomfortableness meant something bad, or at least interesting was coming.

"Twilight squad did have troubles infiltrating the lower levels of the prison, but did succeed. Any standouts we may have had were killed, when a surprise surge came from the aurors, who we believed were under control by Tenebrious squad. 132 prisoners were liberated from the bottom levels. Many were already dead when we found them, but only 3 refused to join. We lost 34 men and had 44 injured. The thing is... One of the prisoners who refused to come with us was Sirius Black."

This statement sparked interest in everyone who was sitting at the table, except for Harry, who wasn't quite sure who this was. However, he didn't ask any questions because he had a feeling it would either all be explained now or later. He also took account of the quick glace Snape and Avery sent him.

"What did you do with him?" Tom asked, his voice suddenly laced with a certain stoniness that showed much more seriousness than before.

"I thought you wouldn't want him killed..." Avery started, appearing unsure. "I put him in the dungeons of my manor to see what you would want me to do. I've kept him in a magical coma the whole time."

Tom appeared to be contemplating the decision before saying, "Bring him here immediately. Leave now."

Giving a quick nod, Avery walked away faster than he would probably want to admit. The sound of the floo going off was the final signal that the man had left.

"Nott? What is your report?" Tom asked, turning attention back to his third follower, as if the previous tension in the room had never existed.

"Noctis squad performed well, although the upper floors weren't much of a challenge even though the group consists of the weakest of the remedial group. We had little to no problems from the aurors, as the more high-security prisoners are at the lowest level. Unfortunately, many of the people on the upper levels have little to nothing to do with the dark. We received 74 prisoners who agreed to come, and 63 refused. We had two injuries and zero deaths." Nott said, much more composed than Avery had been.

Tom nodded, internally pleased that Nott had been taking his position seriously. He didn't mind that many of the upper floors had very few people willing to join, as they were the least powerful and the smallest threats in the whole prison. "Very well. Both of you are to return to your manors and summon your squads in about an hours time, and bring all the prisoners you liberated. Snape, bring your recommendations as soon as possible. Dismissed."

The two men left, leaving Harry and Tom sitting alone at the table.

Harry turned to Tom, asking the first question on his mind, "Who's Sirius Black?"

"I'll explain later, Harry," Tom said. When Harry went to raise another question, a perfectly timed whoosh rang through the room, and Tom stood briskly and left to go see Sirius Black.

The first thing Sirius registered was an overwhelming urge to cough. Doubling over, Sirius hacked up all of the residue from his throat before groaning and opening his eyes, observing his surroundings with immense suspicion.

The last thing Sirius could remember was being in Azkaban when a huge commotion started, and he saw a group of people rushing by, occasionally opening a cell door. He heaved himself out of the corner and made his way to the bars, just in time for them to blast open and hit him. Before he knew it, a spell had knocked him out.

The room he was in was dark and musty, and very empty... Other than the man standing outside of his new cell.

All Sirius could see about this man was that he was tall, because the darkness of the room prevented him from seeing anything else. Bravely, Sirius demanded, "Who are you?"

"Ah," The man started in a deep velvet voice, "Isn't that the question. I'm what you might call Lord Voldemort."

Suddenly, Sirius found that his heart was beating much more faster than normal and he felt very faint. "W-What?"

"You heard me. Unless you've gone deaf after your time in Azkaban."

Sirius recovered his wits a small bit at being mocked, and asked, "Where am I? Why am I here?"

A loud, prolonged sigh exited the man's mouth, and it irked Sirius deeply. His annoyance levels were growing every second. The man, supposedly Voldemort, pulled out a wand. He didn't pay attention at all to Sirius' flinch, and began wandlessly casting wards around the prison, a very impressive feat. "It's quite a long story, but I'm afraid it must wait. Before I leave, I'd like the reassure you that if you try to escape, which I'm quite sure you won't succeed in doing even if you try, you'll regret it immensely."

Confusion clouded Sirius' mind, and he asked, "Why would I regret it?"

Although Sirius couldn't see it, he could almost hear the smirk in the man's voice as he said, "Why? Oh, because I have your godson."

His increased heartbeat returned again, coming as quickly as it had faded before. This time it wasn't fear for himself however, it was fear for his godson, and anger at the bastard in front of him. The dog animagus jumped up and walked up to the bars, snarling at the man outside of the cell. "What! Why?"

Voldemort turned on his heel, ignoring the yells and demands from his prisoner behind him as he walked back out the door as if nothing had ever happened.

"Begin," Tom's voice rang through Harry's ear, signalling the beginning of the duel of the people in front of him. The fair brunette and brooding Italian began to battle, being analysed by every person watching.

Claire Bannister was pale, but exceedingly stunning. She had long flowing chestnut hair that was put back into a French braid for the duel. Her duelling style, as Harry observed, was graceful and flowing. She had a lot of potential to act on, but it appeared as if she hadn't been practising for very long.

A thought occurred to Harry; she only just recently graduated from Hogwarts. That explained it. The Hogwarts curriculum had almost no duelling involved except for the bare minimum in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and it left their students, for the most part, unprepared in that particular subject.

Idris Crowther, on the other hand, reminded Harry of the man who had attacked him that night in Privet Drive, except he was definitely not a vampire. The man was probably in his early thirties, and he was clearly uncomfortable duelling a girl, much less one as young as Claire.

He had a more offensive duelling style, which didn't quite work for someone who had a slightly below average power level and a fairly small repertoire of spells. It was obvious to Harry, who felt as if he knew Tom quite well, that Tom would more likely promote Claire than Idris because Claire already had a very good duelling style - she just hadn't practice enough with it yet. She was good for someone her age.

As the battle continued on, Harry's mind juggled between two topics; the duel in front of him and how Tom hadn't allowed him to join him in speaking to Sirius Black.

Normally, Tom allowed Harry to go wherever he went - no meeting was too confidential. Tom trusted Harry and in exchange, Harry trusted Tom. Harry couldn't help but feel like his trust had been betrayed a little bit because of how closed-off Tom had been about this certain subject.

Who was Sirius Black? His name alone managed to evoke a very strong reaction from Tom, and two of the others at the table had looked over at Harry immediately.

Harry had wanted to question Tom, but the moment the two of them were alone again and Harry attempted to ask him - Tom told him to go back to the East Wing until the prospects came. Not wanting Tom to get angry at him, and more than slightly hurt at his harsh words, Harry followed his instructions.

Once they had showed up, Tom had conversed with their guests, explaining what to do - but he seemed off. He seemed as if even though he was present and speaking, he really wasn't. His mind was clearly not focused on the topic.

Before Harry knew it, Claire's shield failed under the onslaught of Idris' spells and she was hit with a stunner - surprisingly tame for a Death Eater, but clearly he didn't want to use worse spells on her.

Standing up from his place, Tom cast a wandless _ennervate_ on Claire, and she groaned groggily as she reentered consciousness. She sat up, and observed her surroundings before she frowned slightly, clearly disappointed by her loss.

The third contender for promotion, Arham Rosales, walked with Harry towards the group that consisted of Tom, Idris, Snape (who had arrived with the three), and Claire.

"An interesting duel. I believe you both have quite a bit of potential that right now isn't tapped into. You both are promoted to the applied group, and I hope to see your skills grow exponentially among wizards who will be a bit more of a challenge for you." Tom said, sounding more human than he normally did with his followers.

The two both said, "Thank you, my Lord," simultaneously, before giving Tom a few seconds to continue.

"However..." Tom started, "Idris, considering your skill level with spells and the strength of your magical core, the offensive style that you use doesn't quite suit you. Your options could be to either increase your selection of spells, make them more powerful and intense, or try a more defensive style. Despite you hitting Bannister with a stunner, you performed worse during this duel."

Idris lowered his head, clearly a bit peeved at himself for not having gone all out because Claire was much younger, and a girl. However, he wasn't completely disappointed, as he had received a promotion, and had options that were given by the Dark Lord himself on how to improve.

Tom pondered for a second before he addressed Claire, who was waiting in anticipation for his feedback. "You have a style that suits you very well. It flows smoothly and you have quite good speed, although it can definitely be improved. When did you graduate?"

Blinking a few times in shock at being addressed by the Dark Lord, Claire answered, "I graduated last year, my Lord."

Tom nodded, before continuing, "Considering the fact that you have improved this much from the abysmal state of duelling curriculum at Hogwarts in a year, I believe you have a lot of potential. Work on increasing your speed, casting spells non verbally, and spell chains. You seem to be a cunning dueller, and I hope to see more of that from you in the future. Also... Work on some more powerful shield spells, they will be incredibly useful for the future."

Claire blushed slightly, but nodded quickly. "Of course, my Lord. Thank you, my Lord."

Giving her a small nod, Tom ordered, "You two can sit aside and wait for Arham to be examined."

They both walked over, muttering small compliments to each other about their performance. Harry resisted a small smile at the fact that despite the fact that they were serving the Dark Lord and had joined a group called the Death Eaters, they still were able to carry along a friendly conversation with no undertones of jealousy or spite.

"Now, Arham..." Tom started, and Harry couldn't help but note that he seemed to be trying his best to hide the smirk on his face as he said, "You will be duelling Harry."

Harry's eyes widened slightly, and he cursed himself for not maintaining his emotionless face, but it was nothing compared to Arham. His jaw dropped and he asked rudely, "What?"

Fixing him with a sharp glare, Tom said in a slightly more intense tone, "You will be duelling Harry. If you win, you will be promoted. If you lose, you will remain in the remedial group. And if you speak out of hand to me again, you will meet an early grave."

Quickly evaluating himself, Harry wasn't really sure he'd be able to win. He knew that Tom would really make the decision based on whether or not he won, but that didn't start Harry's heart from running a mile a minute.

He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Tom, or even embarrass Tom in front of Snape and the others. Harry also noted that Snape wasn't able to restrain a small amount of shock from showing at the Dark Lord's statement as well.

Arham picked up his jaw and straightened up, although he still looked hesitant as he said, "Of course, my Lord."

The two of them walked over to their positions and Tom stated the rules - no killing and no permanent injuries - before exclaiming, "Begin!"

Arham didn't hold back, but neither did Harry.

The battle was surprisingly quick-paced, Harry noted in between dodging cutting curses and various hexes that would definitely not be painless. He was honestly surprised that the man wasn't holding back and was giving his all - after all, who truly tried their best against a nine-year old?

After many minutes of Arham on the offensive and Harry on the defensive, Harry finally noticed the man starting to slow down, and Harry went on the offence.

The tide of the battle completely flipped. Harry had this in the palm of his hand as he cast several dangerous spells, but still wasn't violating the rules. Arham's eyes were wide as he watched the red-eyed child attack him with a ferocity that was rarely seen in people, much less a child under ten.

Harry hated to admit it, but he loved being in control of the duel so easily, with so little resistance from the other side, that it took him by surprise when Arham sprinted sideways before blasting him with a massive chain of spells.

A cutting curse slipped under Harry's defense and hit his left arm, luckily not his wand arm. A small gasp of pain escaped Harry's mouth, before he steeled himself.

The look in Harry's eyes was terrifying, and took Arham completely by surprise, and before Arham could blink, he was hit with a curse that he wasn't sure of and he was out like a light.

Panting lightly, Harry held his left arm as he put his wand away. The unconscious Arham was rolling on the ground, groaning lightly.

Tom strode over, and said, "Vulnera Sanentur, Harry. Use it on your arm."

He furrowed his eyebrows for a second, before he realised what Tom had said and pulled out the wand that he hadn't used, his beech wand, aimed it at his cut and muttered, " _Vulnera Sanentur._ "

A sigh of relief at the disappearance of the pain escaped Harry's mouth, and he looked up to see Tom looking at him with a strange sense of pride in his eyes. "You did very well, Harry. Now release him."

Harry pursed his lips, and pointed his wand at Arham, muttering, " _Avertet illud_ ," and watching the man gasp as if he had just come up after a minute under water.

Arham scrambled back, as if he was deeply afraid of something that was in front of him, despite clearly empty space. His breaths were dragged out by the raggedy undertone as if he had been smoking for decades, before he recovered himself and calmed down.

The group from earlier reconvened, and Harry noted that Idris and Claire seemed slightly scared of Harry, while Snape seemed to look at him with a sort of sad intrigue which confused Harry immensely.

"Analysing this duel is interesting to say the least," Tom said, clearly drawling to embarrass the man who was clearly already blushing in shame. "However, I'm not here to analyse both of you. Arham, you performed admirably. You didn't hold back despite the fact that you were three times you opponents age, but you took it seriously, which is good. I believe you don't quite deserve a promotion, but if you get your ego and your attitude under control, you could very well get that promotion very soon."

Arham mumbled under his breath, "Thank you, my Lord." He was clearly disappointed, but at least he was humbled. A more humble version of himself would be a more successful version of himself.

"You are all dismissed. Crowther, Bannister, the applied meetings are every Wednesday at 7 in the evening." Tom said, before turning around and walking out, Harry following closely behind him.

The pair spent the rest of the night discussing ways in which Harry could improve and what he had done well in. The tension from earlier had been all but forgotten as the two of them had an intense, but illuminating, conversation.

 _The next day..._

Draco Malfoy smiled as he heard the floo go off in the manor. He had been waiting for weeks to see his friends again and they were finally here for a while. All of Draco's pent up energy would finally be released - and he wasn't the only one happy about the news.

Narcissa was exhausted mentally, between Draco's hyper-active behaviour and Lucius constantly being whisked off on dangerous by the Dark Lord - her stress levels were at an all-time high.

Not the mention that Lucius had told her the night before that the Dark Lord wanted her to teach his ward about pureblood society and some healing spells. She decided to allow Draco to have his friends over so he wouldn't pester her and her new-found student.

Watching Draco run out of the room to go greet his friends, she let out a sigh of relief at the undisturbed silence that spread throughout the garden. She anticipated her guest to arrive in roughly half an hour, so she ran over in her mind what she planned to discuss.

Draco greeted his friends with a huge smile and a tapping foot, clearly anticipating seeing his friends again. "Hi!"

Pansy gave a small smile, recognising Draco's typical behaviour, and said, "Hello, Draco. How have you been?"

"It's been really boring. Father is always away at meetings and Mother never does _anything_!" Draco groaned, evoking a smile from his other friends.

The group of four rushed off to the library, as they always hung out in the loft among it, and Draco relished in the happiness of finally being back with his friends.

Draco's group of friends consisted of Theo Nott, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson. They had all met at one of the Nott's annual Christmas parties, and had been inseparable ever since.

Not only did they have fun, but they discussed the topics that they never quite understood. Right now, those topics were the reason that their parents, everyone except for Blaise, had been gone so often.

"You mean, you don't know?" Draco asked, confused that their parents hadn't explained it to them. Lucius and Narcissa had explained everything after that disastrous breakfast where the Dark Lord had burst in and Draco had blatantly disrespected him.

Theo furrowed his eyebrows, confused that Draco might know something he didn't. "What do you mean?"

Draco leaned in and whispered, "You mean you don't about the _Dark Lord_?"

Theo and Pansy promptly flinched, while Blaise gaped, exclaiming, "The guy who keeps on getting mentioned in all the news articles?"

Nodding fervently, Draco said, "Of course... My dad works for him. Don't yours?"

Pansy was completely confused, "What do you mean? I mean - I don't think so. I've never heard of him I don't think."

"I know your dad does too, Theo. My parents talked about how your dad was leading something last week, and it had to do with the Dark Lord."

Theo opened his mouth, and then shut it again. He shut it again for a minute, before finally saying, "I guess that would make sense... Who is he anyway?"

Draco took hold of the question and ran with it like he was planning an ad campaign for the dark lord. "He's only the most powerful wizard _ever_! One time last year, he came to our house and I didn't know who he was and he scared me so bad I almost wet myself!"

This elicited a few giggles, and Blaise said, "But didn't his army lead that Azkaban break-in?"

"Yeah," Draco said, "I heard about that. My dad said that he wasn't given a part in it and wondered if he had done something wrong. That's when he mentioned your dad, Theo!"

His eyes narrowed in concentration, and he said, "That would make sense, I guess. My dad was gone the night the invasion happened."

"Good!" Draco said, "When I grow up, I'm going to be just like my dad and follow the dark lord! I'm going to be powerful and help him however I can."

The group was silent for a few moments. Blaise was sceptical, but Theo was opening up the idea. Pansy didn't quite understand what was happening.

"Yeah... Yeah! I will too!" Theo exclaimed. He had always wanted nothing more than to be like his father and if this was a step he needed to take to get it, than he would!

Within the next minute, not only had Pansy agreed, but Blaise was slowly opening up to the idea. Draco stood up and said, "Let's go tell my mom!"

The friends were all excited by the idea of actually having made a decision, and ran after Draco and followed him into the garden.

It was almost surreal. The garden had never looked so beautiful to Draco as it had in that moment. It seemed as if everything was clearer than it had ever been. The world went slow motion the moment he met those eyes.

Those red eyes.

Everything about him was perfect, ethereal even.

He had never seen anyone like him before.

Draco wanted to know more.

He didn't even consider asking why the boy with the striking red eyes was in his garden. He just wanted to know - "Who-"

"Draco!" His mother's voice broke through his dream-like state, and Draco flinched back as he saw his mother approaching quickly from behind him. "What are you doing here? I told you the gardens were off-limits today!"

"I'm sorry!" He yelped out quickly. "I just wanted to tell you-"

Narcissa let out a deep breath, before speaking in a voice more serious than she had ever heard, "Draco, it can wait. You can tell me later. Now leave, we have a guest."

Draco nodded solemnly, and looked back over to the boy one last time. He had his head turned slightly in interest and his eyes shone with a look of intrigue that Draco had never seen on one so young. A small smile flitted across the boy's face, and Draco couldn't help but grin back despite the situation.

Stealing on last glance at those gorgeous eyes, Draco left with his friends.

He couldn't wait until the next time he would see those eyes.

Sorry it's taken so long to update! It's been pretty busy and odds are I won't be updating much in the next few days! Please leave a review! They're always appreciated and encourage me to write more!

Thanks so much for reading!


	7. 7 - Contemplating

The large empty manor was daunting at the best of times.

Despite the top-notch house-elves who worked themselves to the bone, the dust floating through the air was inevitable, especially with the rays of light that were shining through the windows.

The spiral staircase in the North wing of the Callidus Manor was one that most people rarely had a reason to visit, and that's why Harry enjoyed going there when he needed to think. Not only was it silent and relaxing, but the window offered a very comfortable place to sit and a beautiful view over the forest outside.

Right now, Harry was pondering the future. His two years with Tom had passed quickly, it felt as if he had only begun his training a few weeks ago, but the more he considered it the more he realized that it would be physically impossible to improve as much as he had in the span of a few weeks.

Harry was now training with the applied group and observed the advanced group quite often. During these lessons, he was completely anonymous, as Tom didn't want anyone outside of his inner circle knowing about Harry's existence in the manor. When Harry had asked when his identity would be revealed, Tom had merely smirked and said, "When the time comes, it will be worth more than all the trouble you went through waiting."

Shutting his eyes, allowing his mind to drift off as he ran through his thoughts, Harry relaxed against the cushion sitting on the windowsill. He could hear footsteps coming, no matter how quiet they were, but tried to appear as if he was ignoring them.

A deep sigh came from the person who had approached him, and Harry slumped involuntarily. He immediately recognized the sigh as Tom's, but he could only imagine why he was here now - much less why he seemed so concerned with something.

"Harry," Tom said softly. Harry turned his head in his direction slightly in acknowledgement, not yet wanting to open his eyes. "What's bothering you?'

This statement made Harry open his eyes. Tom had never appeared to care so much before, although Harry knew he truly did, and this was a truly rare show of emotion.

In a quiet voice that he knew Tom would be able to hear, Harry said, "What makes you think something is bothering me?"

Tom's hand raised to his forehead calmly as he ran his hand through his hair - a nervous tick that Harry had that had somehow managed to rub off on him. It gave Tom's curls a little more bounce that made Harry think about how much younger Tom looked when he allowed his emotions to show a little more. "Perhaps the fact that you only come to this window when you need to think or are emotionally distraught? Normally it's the former but I have a feeling today it's the latter."

Harry's eyelashes weighed heavily on his eyes, and he blinked slowly, turning back to the window. "Actually, it is the former. Everything has been overwhelming me lately, and I need to sort through my thoughts. It's so rare that I get to slip away - I'll take whatever chance I can get.

Getting a nod in response, Harry barely acknowledged Tom as he came and sat on the stair next to the windowsill he was sitting on. "I hope you don't mind - I need to give you one more thing to contemplate."

This caught Harry's attention. Despite the extra weight of his drowsiness, Harry gave his full attention to his mentor. A light smirk crossed the older man's face and he said, "I want you to consider whether or not you wish to attend Hogwarts."

Harry's head jerked back slightly, and he blinked quickly, trying his best to consider Tom's words. "I thought it was out of the question?"

"I've been thinking on it," Tom started, gazing out of the window to Harry's left. "And I've decided to leave it up to you. However, if you do attend, it will be two years at an absolute maximum."

This was an interesting statement and Harry had no idea what to think about it. Ever since learning about it, Harry had always imagined Hogwarts, but he had imagined it without him. He thought he would be training with the Dark Lord all throughout his teenage years. Attending the school would be a major setback in his training, he would barely be able to improve at all if he went. This would definitely not be beneficial to Tom's plans. Unless he had a plan for if Harry chose to attend. "And why the change of heart?"

Tom pursed his lips, glancing up to meet Harry's eye contact, before saying, "Dumbledore would try very hard to try and get you to turn to his side, and I could get you to spy for me using this method. At the end of your first year, I would probably arrange for you to try to attack from the inside. You could reveal yourself and then it would be public knowledge."

The plan wasn't something he would expect from Tom. The plan had so many holes that wouldn't be easily fixed, but knowing his mentor, he would be able to work something out. Taking in the silence, Tom decided to continue, "If you decided to stay, your training would continue as planned - it would be much quicker paced. At the rate you're going now, I believe your training will be over in four years or so. At that point, you will be my near equal, and we will continue to raise the standard by continuing to develop our skills and raise the standard of the best."

"Going to Hogwarts would only delay this for a year or two," Tom said. He didn't seem aware of the impact his words had had on his student.

The idea of being the most powerful was intoxicating to Harry. It made a delicious feeling erupt in the pit of his stomach and it made his desire stronger. Tom said he was leaving the decision up to him, but it was clear he knew which way his words would influence Harry.

Taking a deep breath, Harry decided, "I will remain here. The faster my training continues the quicker this war will be over and done with. Besides, my dramatic reveal can take place outside of Hogwarts as well. And it will only be more satisfying if I am highly skilled from a year of practicing intensely compared to a year of little training and development."

Tom only smirked a little bit, but it was clear to Harry that his mentor approved of his decision making. "Good choice. You truly would've made a good Slytherin."

Fixing the older man with an odd look, Harry said, "Well, I guess we'll never truly know, will we?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

January of 1991 was a record-breaking month weather-wise. It was the coldest month that England had had in a little over a century, and there was an insane amount of snow for England.

Harry quite enjoyed the snow. The brightness hurt his eyes at first, and his skin's sensitivity to the light only bothered him for a second, but once he adjusted, it was incredible. Seeing the sunlight reflect off the surface of the untouched snow was life-changing.

It was only tarnished by the knowledge that that night, the snowy white innocence of Harry's heart would be splattered with red.

That night was the first attack Harry would be involved in. Tom was eager - although he didn't show it outwardly - and so was Harry. He just had some second thoughts.

He would never admit it out loud. He was nervous about the idea of killing someone, but it was necessary if he was to be the Dark Lord's apprentice. It was necessary if he wanted to achieve the power he dreamed of so often.

Walking outside along of the part of the building that was shielded by the snow was Harry's go-to reprieve when he was at Malfoy Manor. In the summer, it was relaxing to sit on the benches and enjoy the heat, but now the benches were gone and the snow was spilling onto the cement.

The reason that Harry was at the Malfoy family manor that day was that his father had wanted to clear up the final details of the plan for the attack. Harry had asked to be excused, and while Tom had seemed hesitant and slightly confused, he knew Harry already knew all the details he was about to discuss and let him go.

Releasing a breath that appeared in front of him in a visible puff, Harry rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself. He looked out over the beautiful yard of the Malfoys. He didn't want to the perfection of the view in front of him to be tarnished at all.

That desire was quickly sated when he heard the squelching footsteps of someone walking on snow in heavy boots.

Harry's head snapped up to see the new arrival. He knew it wasn't Tom - as Tom would never be caught dead in the snow and he would never announce his presence in such a loud way. Anyone else was unwelcome.

A blonde boy who Harry had seen a few times before was walking through the snow, making his way to the door that Harry was walking right by. He seemed to have not noticed Harry yet and was muttering snippets of a one-sided conversation under his breath. "How dare they- Father will be- Out in the snow!"

Harry smirked at the newcomer's obliviousness and he couldn't stop himself from saying, "Hello."

The blonde's head snapped up, his eyes immediately meeting Harry's and growing wide in shock. Harry kept his face void of any emotions, but not so much so as it would be unnerving.

The two stood in silence for almost thirty seconds before Harry started again, "I'm sorry, typically when people greet other people they respond with a similar greeting yet. An example would be-"

"I- I know what a greeting it!" The boy sputtered out disrespectfully. Harry cocked his head and allowed a miniscule smirk to take over his face. A second later, the other boy was apologizing profusely, no small amount of fear written on his face as he said, "I'm so sorry - I didn't mean to be rude! I- I just- I-"

"It's alright," Harry said, silencing the Malfoy heir.

The silence reigned once again, but this time it was the blonde who spoke first, stepping forward with an outstretched hand, saying, "I'm Draco Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Harry made sure to look at the hand for a moment before taking it. "Harry Potter," He said in his smoothest voice, which he always saved for strangers and new acquaintances. "The pleasure is all mine."

Draco dropped his hand and looked over the ravenette carefully. Harry felt like he was under analysis until he realized that Draco was... admiring him. Internally, Harry rolled his eyes, but externally, he patiently waited for Draco's eyes to meet his own again.

When they did, Harry was pleased to see Draco go even paler when he noticed the scarlet hue of his eyes. "You're- you're," Draco stuttered, "A vampire?"

"Yes, I am. Will that be an issue?" Harry asked, genuinely wondering how strong the prejudice against vampires was in the wizarding world. He had not yet had a civil experience with another person who was not aware that if they disrespected him in any way, they would end up being tortured or dead.

The blonde seemed hesitant. "Of-of course not," He spoke, refusing to make eye contact again.

In reality, Draco was so overwhelmed because he had been wanting to meet this boy ever since the first time he had ever laid his eyes on him more than two years ago. He had already known about the peculiar red eyes but was only now remembering how his parents had said that he was a vampire on the very first day he had seen him.

Draco was admiring the beautiful picture in front of him. Harry was lean, clearly, fit for his age, but he was a little bit shorter than average. He was shorter than Draco by at least two or three inches. Harry had jet black hair that was slightly curly and was messy in a way that it looked like he had just gotten out of bed - but it still looked perfect. His red eyes contrasted against his pale skin in a way that reminded Draco of how blood would look on a fresh sheet of snow, not that he had ever seen that before. He still had the child-like fat in his cheeks, but Draco could tell that he would have a very aristocratic face as he grew older.

The nth awkward moment of silence ended when a calm voice came from inside the door, saying, "Harry?"

Draco jerked a little bit, surprised how focused he had been, and filed away the memory of how Harry had almost seemed to have already known that someone was coming. A soft smile lit up Harry's lips at the sight of Draco being startled, before turning and calling softly, "I'm out here."

The door opened less than five seconds later, revealing a figure that shocked Draco to his core. The Dark Lord himself.

Draco's eyes widened as he looked up at the very tall man who had only glanced at him briefly before turning to Harry. His father had spoken of how good of a leader the Dark Lord was in comparison to how he was during the last war and he had been elated - but Draco couldn't see how anyone could think of this man in a positive sense. He was downright intimidating.

Standing at a very daunting height to a ten-year-old of 6'2 (1.87 m), the man was slim but clearly had muscles underneath his robes. He had the posture of a king, and the countenance to match. An intense look was written on his face as he looked at his ward, and he said, "Why are you out here in the cold?"

Harry sighed lightly, and said, "Just admiring the snow," turning his head slightly away from the Dark Lord. Draco was honestly surprised that the Dark Lord didn't react violently, only smiling slightly as he turned his gaze back to Draco.

"Ah, Draco, is it?" He asked the terrified child who nodded quickly. "It's nice to see you've met Harry. I hope you two were getting along alright?"

Harry snorted, and Draco blinked cluelessly. "Ah yes," Draco muttered. "Yes, my Lord. We were getting along fine."

Turning his head in slight interest, the Dark Lord remarked, "Nice to see that Lucius decided to take my advice and instill some sense of respect in you. He did a very good job." After a slight pause, he continued, "Anyway, Harry, we have to get going."

Harry stood up from his leaning position on the wall, and followed Tom back inside, briefly turning to Draco, giving him a small smile and waving goodbye. "Nice to meet you, Draco."

The door shut behind Harry, leaving Draco with an intense blush on his face as his thoughts continued to linger on the vampiric boy-who-lived who was somehow associated with the Dark Lord himself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The development in the war since the attack on Azkaban for the Dark wasn't significant, but by no means did that mean that Voldemort was struggling or even close to losing. It was quite the opposite actually.

The strength of the army of the dark was now widespread knowledge. It was more than twice as large as the light (although the light had grown exponentially as well) and the average level of skill in each of the training groups had risen substantially.

Overall, Tom was very pleased with how the war was going so far - in fact, he was almost sure that the light had no chance against them. He loved revelling in the feeling of their impending victory, in the feeling of awareness that he held all the cards in this war.

He knew that even if Dumbledore survived and thrived, it wouldn't be enough.

There was only one thing that was bothering Tom even slightly; his ward.

Harry had been acting more peculiar than usual as of late and it was unnerving Tom more than he would like to admit.

Over Tom's years with Harry as his student, Tom had grown very accustomed to Harry's personality. He was always curious, asking questions constantly in order to improve.

While he still asked the occasional question, the pace had slowed down a lot. Perhaps this was because he was now able to deduct the answers by thinking through the questions before asking them, but it made him much quieter than normal.

He was more stoic around Tom. Of course, his attitude around the Death Eaters hadn't changed, but normally when Tom and Harry were together, Harry didn't hold back his emotions. He spoke his mind and it was a trait that defined Harry in Tom's mind.

Now, though, he was acting more and more like Tom felt he acted when he was in the orphanage. Closed off, quiet, but powerful. Tom had always had unnaturally good control over his magic. He had always performed feats of magic that he would later discover were incredibly rare even for well-trained fully grown wizards.

Harry's control of his magic was unprecedented. His growth since he had arrived was astounding. This child with a barely even partially developed magical was in the top percentage of his middle range class for fully grown adults, and he quickly approaching the advanced class.

Tom had a theory that perhaps the reason he was developing so well and so quickly was because he was a vampire. They were infamously good at adapting and growing very quickly.

Another thing of interest was that there had been very few cases of vampire-wizard hybrids in the past - so Tom had no idea what that certain mix would mean for his ward.

He had quickly discovered that the vampire's aversion to light didn't apply to Harry because of his magical core counteracting it. He also had a completely human sleep schedule, another thing that had surprised Tom. It seemed as if Harry had only received the ideal characteristics from vampires: enhanced strength, superhuman speed, very distinct ruby-coloured eyes, and an insatiable thirst for blood.

It was questionable whether or not the last thing was a good feature - Tom personally though it was.

These were the things under contemplation after Tom and Harry had arrived back at the manor, and were preparing to summon the Death Eaters for the attack.

This would be Harry's reveal to the world, and Tom wanted it to be perfect. Under no circumstances would Tom accept his apprentice being viewed as below average or not meeting up to expectations.

It was clear to Tom that Harry was nervous - but Tom's heart was thrumming at the anticipation of the battle. He couldn't wait to see how his ward would perform in a real-life scenario, but if he had to guess he would say that his primal vampiric instincts would come out and it would be an incredible display of power.

Not only would it show the powerful figures that the Dark Lord had in his army, but it would show the other vampires that they would be welcome, if not praised if they chose to join the dark.

Vampires had always leaned to the dark, but tended to try their best to stay neutral. The light was infamous for being unwelcoming to the majority of magical creatures - it was completely out of the question if the creatures were classified as dark.

Throwing his robes over his shoulder, Tom turned and walked out of his chambers into the main room of the East wing, where Harry spent most of his time lounging on the couches studying when he was not sitting on that desolate staircase in the North wing.

Tom walked in to find Harry sitting on the couch, his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. This was a perfect example of a position of contemplation. For Harry, this was a red flag that something was up.

A deep breath he didn't even know he was holding exited his lungs and Tom walked over, sitting next to Harry on the couch. He put a hand on his ward's back in support, and asked, "Is the attack the reason that you've been acting so peculiar lately?"

Harry sat up straight, letting Tom's hand drop to the couch. This was an odd move for Harry, as usually revelled in the small amount of physical affection that Tom gave him. "I've never killed before."

This threw Tom for a loop. Of all the things, Tom wouldn't have thought that would be the issue. Harry had tortured several people, sinking his fangs mercilessly into their skin and sucking their blood, but killing was the thing he was going to have an issue with.

"It's not that I have a problem with it," Harry said quickly before Tom could speak. "It's just knowing that this will be the start of a whole new era for me. I've been sheltered for all the years that I've lived here with you, and now I'll be out in the open."

Tom resisted a snort. Harry had hardly been sheltered. Sheltered from the horrors of war, yes - but hardly sheltered. He had witnessed things more horrific than most adults had seen with an unflinching nerve.

"I'm nervous that I won't live up to your expectations. The public eye displays everything in an extremely harsh or extremely positive light - I'm worried about which I'll be portrayed as," Harry continued.

Furrowing his eyebrow, Tom spoke again, "Harry - it doesn't matter what the press says. Not only that, but I'm quite sure that you'll make a great impression no matter what. Imagine it, ' _The Dark Lord's Son'_."

Before Tom could even realize that he referred to Harry as his son, Harry reacted. He turned to Tom with his mouth open and threw himself into a hug with his father.

Tom, for the first time in a while, had spoken without thinking, but he didn't regret it at all. He felt a small swell in his chest as he returned the hug. This was the most affection Harry had shown Tom since Harry had discovered that he was fine after the battle in Diagon Alley.

Harry drew out of the hug a few seconds later with a small smile and a blush of embarrassment on his face. "I'm-I'm sorry," He stammered out.

"No, don't apologize. I do see you as my son, Harry. There's nobody else in the world that I care about more than you, and to be honest there would be nobody better to be my heir." Tom said, showing more emotion than Harry had pretty much ever seen from him.

This statement made Harry more sure of himself than he had ever been. He steeled himself, before standing up and announcing, "Let's do this."

Tom stood up beside him, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder in support before removing it and walking towards the hallway, Harry following closely behind him, confidence clear in his stride.

They both knew that that day would be an important day in wizarding history. But it was more important than any of them could've ever guessed.

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Ah! Sorry it's been a long time since I've updated! I just entered a fanfiction competition and it completely rejuvenated my need to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter - the first two scenes I was in kind of a writing haze and the second one was written at school while I tried desperately to hide that I was writing Harry Potter fanfiction ( :

Reviews are always appreciated - the longer the better! Thanks so much!


	8. 8 - Negotiating

_Seven months later (right before Harry's eleventh birthday)..._

Sirius woke up, gasping for air as if it had been stolen from him for years. The last thing he remembered was a fully-robed Death Eater casting a spell at him and the sudden urge to fall asleep taking over him. He croaked, "What the hell?"

Sitting up, Sirius saw Voldemort standing outside of his cell with his wand out and pointed at him. He had a devious smirk on his face as he looked at his prisoner.

A booming headache entered Sirius' head. Memories flowed back into his head in a sudden rush that quickly overwhelmed him. It was so hard to contemplate that Voldemort was back, much less looking younger than even Sirius was. Even since the last time Voldemort had come down here, his words of 'I have your godson', had been running through the prisoner's head.

Sirius opted not to reply, so Tom began speaking again. "Alas, I couldn't leave you down here forever alone, can I?"

Rolling his eyes, the animagus responded, "Well, I guess not. Does that mean you're going to bring another prisoner down here?"

"Not a prisoner, no," Tom answered, seeming much more uneasy than he had mere seconds earlier.

This caught Sirius' attention. He jumped to conclusions very quickly, and suddenly moved closer to the bars. "Harry?"

Tom snorted, surprising Sirius. The unflappable Voldemort showing emotion to his prisoner? That was completely unheard of and shocked Sirius so much that he flinched back. The Dark Lord's response was, "Considering your mind has been rotting away for so long, I'm surprised you were able to deduce that so quickly. Or it was a lucky guess. I'm assuming the latter because in most situations like this, it would be someone to torture you or something of the sort."

"So it is Harry?" Sirius asked, his mind slow after being left alone with something to stimulate his mind for so long.

Shooting him with an odd look that Sirius couldn't read, Voldemort said, "Yes, it is. Before I decide what to do with you, I want to see how well the two of you will... get along."

Sirius nodded, and Voldemort turned on his heel, walking out briskly. He was more stiff than he had been upon entering. Perhaps he was nervous about how this meeting would go?

Five minutes felt like an hour, but eventually Harry came in.

He was nothing like Sirius could have ever imagined.

Sirius immediately observed that Harry held himself much like the Dark Lord, and seemed almost as emotionless, but curiosity was obvious in his eyes. He looked to be about ten or eleven. _He'll be going to Hogwarts soon_ , Sirius thought giddily.

When Harry had been born, everyone had guessed that he would look identical to James - but it was clear now that he inherited more from Lily than one would have thought. He had her high cheekbones (while they weren't defined yet - it was obvious they would be eventually), composed manner, and her- her eyes?

At Harry's birth, his eyes had been green. The most stunning shade of emerald that was the same as Lily's. It was definitely the child's most distinguishing features.

His eyes were red.

Immediately, a memory of his days as an auror came back to him. One time, shortly before James and Lily had went into hiding, Jame and Sirius had had a mission to expose a prostitution ring in Knockturn. While investigating, they had to go into the bar, and one of the customers had been a vampire. He was tall, had sunken skin, pitch black hair, and striking red eyes. They almost appeared to glow. Seeing it had struck fear in Sirius' heart - but he didn't acknowledge the vampire - he was merely a customer of the bar, not involved in their investigation.

The memory of that had stuck in his mind because that was his first time seeing a vampire in real life. They had studied them in Defense Against the Dark Arts and very briefly in Care of Magical Creatures as well, but the pictures in all the textbooks had merely been drawings.

"Hello..."

The soft but smooth voice jerked him out of his thoughts. "Hi, Harry."

Silence continued for about a minute, both observing each other intently. Sirius broke the silence, quietly saying, "Why are you here?"

Confusion filled Harry's face, it was clear that he wasn't trying to hide his emotions. Knowing that made a swoop of warmth fill his heart. Harry asked, "You mean with the Dark Lord?"

Just from that statement, Sirius deduced that Harry wasn't particularly close with him, which was relief. Little did he know, it was quite the opposite. Sirius nodded shortly, leaning forward in anticipation for the story.

"Well, when I was eight, I got attacked by a vampire and my aunt and uncle sent me to an orphanage. I was there for about a month before he came and got me, and I've been living with him ever since." Harry tried his best to keep emotion out of his voice as he spoke, wanting to see exactly what Sirius thought about his father.

Sirius sat back, shocked by the fact that his godson seemed so... stoic. "And does he- you know, treat you alright?"

Harry smiled a little bit, thinking back to all the time over the years with Tom. "Yes, I love it here. I've never been happier."

This statement shocked Sirius to his core. Did Voldemort... have a heart?

Before Sirius could answer, a cold feeling washed over him. Why was he even getting to talk to Harry? Why was he here? Why wasn't he just killed in the attack on Azkaban?"

"Why am I here?" Sirius asked, much more forceful than he had previously been. Harry recoiled in shock, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "What motive does he have for sending you in here?"

"He didn't tell you? He wants you to join him." Harry said, as if there was no issue in the idea at all of joining the _Dark Lord_.

Everything happening was completely overwhelming Sirius. "Why would he think I would join him? I'm the last person who would consider it."

"Well, I don't know," A new voice spoke, as Tom stepped out from behind the open door entering into the room. "Perhaps because all of the light side would try to kill you on sight? They already think you're with the dark anyway, Peter Pettigrew set you up."

"Oh," Sirius started sarcastically, "And whose side was Peter Pettigrew on?"

"If it would help persuade you, he's already dead," Tom said coldly.

"You killed Lily and James!" Sirius exclaimed, looking for any sign of emotion from either of the people in front of him. Neither flinched, and the fact that Harry didn't care either hit Sirius right in the heart. "Harry! He killed your parents, how can you not care?"

Harry jerked back as if he had just been hit, and he said, "I've long forgiven him. He wasn't in the right state of mind at that point; he is now."

Sirius looked away as if it pained him to even look at Harry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tom walking closer to Harry, putting a hand on his shoulder in an almost father-like way.

This triggered a deep rage that was more emotion than Sirius had felt in a long time. He snarled at Voldemort, "Get your hand off him, you murderer!"

Tom stepped forward, letting his hand fall off of Harry's shoulder with anger apparent in his eyes. Sirius could feel the power emanating off of the man. Harry showed slight distress as he grabbed Tom's hand quickly, saying under his breath, "Dad, please... don't."

Sirius was horrified at the image in front of him. He took shallow, quick breaths as he looked at the pair in front of him. "Harry... What could have possibly led you to..."

Harry stood up a little straighter, anger flaring in his blood-red eyes as he sneered, "Led me to what? _To what_? To see the only person who has ever been there for my whole entire life as a father?"

The raw emotion in Harry's voice was enough the shock Sirius to his core. Sirius would have never imagined Harry to be like... _this!_

"You know what, Harry? You would have your real father with you right now if it weren't for the man beside you. He's manipulating you. Even from Azkaban, I know that you're a famous figure in the wizarding world for defeating him! Of course, he would want you as his pawn! There was even a prophecy saying that you were the only one who could beat him!" Sirius ranted, expecting a stronger reaction than the one he received.

Both Harry and Tom sighed deeply. Tom turned to Harry, saying, "It looks like needs a little more time."

Harry nodded, sending a glance of disappointment in Tom's direction before turning on his heel and leaving the room, while Tom remained.

"I thought you would try your best to get along with him - after all, you are the only thing he has remaining of his original family. I want you to join me - join the Death Eaters - and I will allow you to be a part of Harry's life. If you truly care about him, the choice is obvious." Tom spoke, leaving Sirius to contemplate the conversation that had just happened.

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Tom was surprised by how the meeting had gone - although some part of him had known that it was going to end that way. Sirius Black was an infamously stubborn Gryffindor who was unwaveringly loyal to his friends - even if all of his friends were dead or betrayed him.

But that didn't mean that Tom didn't have a trick up his sleeve - he always did. The solution to his problem wasn't incredibly easy but it was good enough. And it Harry executed it perfectly, the Dark Lord would have two fairly powerful wizards joining his ranks.

In order to begin his plan, Tom needed to send out a letter and get Harry to be in the right place at the right time.

Harry and Tom were walking down the hall when Tom turned to Harry, crouching down slightly to meet Harry's height. He made eye contact with Harry, a seriousness in his eyes that almost seemed more intense than usual.

"Harry," Tom started, "I sent out a letter the other day - for more persuasion for Sirius to join our side whether he was hesitant or not. I need you to go to Hogsmeade and wait in the Hog's Head. A man will meet you there - I need you to persuade him to our side. I'm sure you will be able to sense it - but he is a magical creature that is typically scorned by the light and accepted by the dark. If he comes with you, I'm almost positive that Sirius Black will join our side as well. Do you understand?"

It only took a few seconds for Harry to comprehend Tom's words before he nodded, "I understand. When do I need to be there?"

Tom pulled out his wand, casting a silent _tempus_ , before saying, "You should leave now - he will be there in about fifteen minutes."

Harry nodded, and turned to walk to the Floo, Tom following closely behind him. When they arrived, Tom gave Harry one of his rare hugs, muttering under his breath, "Thank you for calming me down back there. Be safe, my son. If you notice or sense another member of the Order of the Phoenix, disapparate immediately."

This was more information than he had previously given - now he knew the man he was meeting was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The Order used to comprise of everyone fighting for the light, but was now known as the group that lead the army of the light. To know that one of the members of the main group was coming to meet him was daunting. Only important and powerful people were official members of the group.

Despite his uneasiness, Harry put up a facade of stoicism with a hint of confidence as he stood up straight. "Of course. Thank you for trusting me with this."

Tom smiled slightly, before nodding his farewell, watching as Harry turned and left. Tom could only hope that nothing would go wrong - silently praying for his son's safety. This was, after all, the first time he had sent him off alone.

Although he would be loath to admit it, Harry was quite nervous. This was his his first appearance in public without his father nearby. The fact that his first public appearance six months ago had spread like wildfire throughout the news wasn't exactly reassuring either.

Hogsmeade was fairly quiet that day - considering all the Hogwarts students were away for the summer. Harry saw very few people as he strolled along, and if he did they didn't even spare him a glance as they were too busy in their own conversations.

Harry had never been in the Hog's Head before, but he knew some general information about it. It was owned by the brother of Albus Dumbledore himself, and used to be the headquarters of meetings for the Order of the Phoenix.

Therefore, the choice of the meeting place had surprised Harry - it wasn't neutral territory. But he trusted his father, and if his father felt that the chance of the man ratting him out was low, than it was probably low.

The restaurant was dark and dreary, but more busy than one would have expected considering how empty the streets had been. The question in Harry's mind was quickly answered when he saw a large projection on the wall of a quidditch game.

Harry took a seat at a table by the window, and watched the quidditch game while taking note of the appearance of several of the people in the room. He quickly saw that there was one member of the Order there - Mundungus Fletcher.

 _Hardly a threat_ , Harry thought. The man hadn't even glanced towards him and seemed completely infatuated by the game and his firewhisky. But it wouldn't be good to underestimate him - especially because he had close ties with Dumbledore.

When the name Dumbledore went through his mind, his eyes flitted to the bar, where a small woman and a man in his twenties were working the bar - neither of them was Aberforth Dumbledore. That was a big relief.

After about ten minutes of sitting there, nobody had even spared Harry a glance except for the waitress, who came and took his order.

"Are you here with someone else?" She asked, clearly concerned by the fact that a young child was in a pub alone on a random afternoon in the middle of July. He had quickly told her that he was meeting with someone who would be there any minute. The concern had quickly wiped off her face, and she went to go get him his ginger ale.

When the man finally arrived, Harry's first thought was, Bloody hell, it's that man that I threw into a crowd. He had shaggy light brown hair, and bags under his eyes that looked like they had been there his whole life. His skin had a pale sheen to it despite being the middle of the summer, and he seemed quite ill.

This was Remus Lupin.

Harry had been forced to study all the members of the Order of the Phoneix, and Remus was a prominent member who tended to hide in the shadows. He wasn't a fan of the limelight because whenever he had attention in the media - they were accusing him of being a spy because of his lycanthropy.

As if it couldn't have been any more obvious, Harry's enhanced sense immediately picked up a wolf-like scent. Thankfully it wasn't too strong, or Harry would have gagged.

Lupin looked around the pub, clearly trying to keep a low profile as he recognized his fellow member of the Order of the Phoenix, before spotting Harry.

It was almost as if time stopped - the man clearly went through a mixture of emotions; fear, hesitance, recognition, hope, and... nostalgia?

After a few seconds of the two observing each other, Remus walked up to the table and sat across from Harry - holding intense eye contact as he sat down. He asked, "Harry?"

"Who else?" Harry asked with his best attempt at a genuine smile. He had been so conditioned to react emotionlessly that it was a challenge to show real emotions to people - Tom was an obvious exception.

The man slumped, releasing the tension his body had been holding, as he asked, "So why am I here?"

"Well," Harry wasn't sure what was on the letter that Tom had sent, so he asked, "What did the letter say?"

"It said that Harry Potter would meet with me at this time and date." Remus said, before quickly adding, "And to not tell anyone. What were you told?"

Harry responded honestly, "I was told to meet here as well, obviously. But I wasn't told who I was meeting... You're Remus Lupin, right?'

The man furrowed his eyebrow, nodding before saying, "How do you know that?"

"Well, I've been taught all the major members of the Order, and you are one of them," Harry said nonchalantly, making sure to not mention that Tom was the one who taught him.

It suddenly struck Remus what kind of situation he was in - Harry Potter wasn't just the son of two of his dead best friends - he had thrown Remus into a crowd when he was 8, and he was kidnapped, or at the very least living, with the Dark Lord himself. He thought for a few moments, and despite his suspicion couldn't help but feel that Harry had good intentions. "Are you with him by your own free will?"

This caused Harry to smile. Of course he would be able to think through these things logically, Harry thought happily. He nodded, saying, "I've never been happier. I can promise you that."

Remus nodded, absorbing the information just given to him. "So what is the goal of this meeting?"

"Please don't make a scene," Harry said seriously, before continuing with, "We want you to join us."

This statement caused small shock waves of pain to echo through Remus' head as his hand flew to him temple. Of course, the thought had always been considered in his mind. Werewolves were always welcomed among the dark, and he would never face the prejudice that he faced with the light. The idea had never gotten very far because all of the people he cared about were on the light - but now it was quite the opposite.

As far as Remus knew, Sirius was with the dark, and now so was Harry. The others, Peter, Lily, and James, were dead. Remus had never been able to quite believe that Sirius had done what he did - after all, he was never given a trial and Sirius had always been loyal to a fault.

Harry was fixing him with a calculating, but soft look. He opened his mouth to speak, but Remus cut him off with, "Did Sirius really join you and betray your parents?"

"No, " Harry said matter-of-factly.

Remus was sent reeling for an answer. Harry didn't give any additional information and Remus didn't want to keep asking - but he needed this. "So what really happened?"

Harry grimaced, "Peter Pettigrew betrayed them and framed Sirius. When Sirius went to confront him about the betrayal, Peter blew up a bunch of muggles, cut off his own finger, changed into his animagus form, and fled."

"He-he's not dead?" Remus stuttered out, the pain in his mind hitting him again full-force. This was a lot to comprehend for one meeting.

"Oh, he's dead," Harry said, almost seeming to smile as he spoke. "The Dark Lord killed him after he helped to resurrect him."

To see the son of James smile at something like that was horrifying, but it didn't seem to affect Remus as much as he thought it should. After all, Harry was a vampire - it was in his most primal instincts to drinks people's blood. It wasn't much different for Remus, except he tried his best to resist it. That's why he always appeared so ill - because he was trying to reject the most basic parts of who he was. He had always considered relenting to his desires, but knew he would never have a place among the light if he did something like that.

He sat thoughtfully, not particularly sad at the news, asking, "So where is Sirius now? He was one of the ones taken from Azkaban during the invasion last year, right?"

"Yes, he was taken. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord... forgot that he was down there. Luckily he was being fed - so he is alive and well for the most part, I can't imagine the toll Azkaban took on him. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but we are hoping for both you and Sirius to join us." Harry spoke truthfully, continuing before Remus could say something.

"We knew that you must have struggled with the problems of being a werewolf on the light - but we would welcome you. We even have others of your kind - you could join a pack, perhaps even find a mate. You would have freedom to embrace yourself, something you've never been able to do. You would have Sirius again, and... you would have me..." Harry said, showing more emotion than he had previously.

This was going to be a difficult decision - but Remus knew that the answer was obvious. The reason he had any difficulty at all was because James and Lily had been killed by him - but even then, Remus had heard rumours that the Dark Lord had been insane near the end of the last war but was now more level-headed than he had ever been.

Not to mention the fact that the dark was staggeringly powerful - the light was putting up their best effort to stop them but it didn't look as if it was going to work out. Remus sighed, before saying, "Yes, I'll join."

Harry grinned genuinely, and Remus smiled right back. He couldn't help but be reminded of James, but he could accept that the boy and his father were incredibly different.

"But..." Harry started, seeming sheepish which made Remus suddenly uneasy, "You need to know that Sirius is incredibly hesitant to join us, we were hoping you could maybe help us convince him."

Remus snorted, this was hardly a surprise, Sirius was infamously stubborn. "His family was always dark and it is widely known that the reason all members of dark families also become dark is because of genetics. Much like me, he had been resisting internal urges his whole entire life."

Harry nodded his understanding, and a sudden thought struck Remus. Before even thinking, he asked, "Harry, have you killed?"

This question was out of the blue but Harry could understand his reasoning behind asking it. He gave a small nod, "The attack on London six months ago? That was the night of my first kill."

Remus remembered very clearly. A child had been revealed as the heir of Voldemort, but there hadn't been enough details for people to know who it was. Dumbledore had suspected Harry, and spoke his concerns, but most people thought it was preposterous. All that was shown in the news was that the child had been incredibly skilled and was virtually a killing machine.

"How... was it?" Remus asked, giving him a look of concern as the child fixed his gaze outside of the window.

"I was hesitant. The whole killing-people thing really intimidated me at first. But," Harry turned back to Remus, steeling himself and saying, "This is a war, and you have to do what is necessary to win."

Remus was stunned with the answer. He had never expected something like that, but it was clear the boy had unwavering loyalty to the dark. He was completely unsure now whether the Dark Lord truly cared for the young boy in front of him. _Well_ , Remus thought, _I guess I'll just have to meet him and see._

Receiving no response, Harry continued and said, "Well, we should go to the Manor and I can introduce you to him."

Remus paid for the bill quickly, and the two walked out of the bar towards the floo system located in the middle of the street.

Neither of them had any idea that Daedalus Diggle had taken note of the two speaking, and immediately headed to Dumbledore's office to inform him.

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Tom smiled proudly, this was the first time that he had entrusted such an important thing to his son and not only had he completed in successfully, but he had passed with flying colours.

The werewolf in front of him was clearly completely surprised when the Dark Lord himself stepped forward and offered a hand, which Remus quickly took. Voldemort was handsome, and looked to be about Remus' own age - which was shocking. He had aristocratic features, curly yet maintained black hair, and dark brown eyes that almost appeared black.

"Welcome to the dark, Remus Lupin," He said with a smile of respect that had been the absolutely last thing he was expecting from a man in such a high position of power.

Remus smiled and thanked the man. He was caught slightly off guard but quickly agreed when the Dark Lord asked to form an unbreakable vow before continuing with any negotiations.

Minutes later, after Remus had been given the tour and shown where he could stay while at the manor, Tom said, "This is the dungeon - I was hoping you could try and persuade our... temporary prisoner."

The werewolf had been thrown into things faster than he could have ever expected, but nodded, and quickly steeled himself before entering the door in front of him.

He walked into the musty cement room, cringing at dry smell that filled his nose upon entry. Observing the room in front of him, he noticed there were three cells but only one was occupied.

A man was sitting in the corner, as far away from the entrance and as far into the darkness as he could be. He was bony and thin, his face gaunt compared to the last time Remus had seen him, but still the same person.

Sirius shuddered upon seeing his old friend, exclaiming, "Moony? What are you doing here?"

Remus smiled sadly before looking at the ground, before saying, "Hey Padfoot, long time no see, huh? I'm here because-"

"Don't tell me you joined the dark?" Sirius yelled, standing up and approaching the bars, anger clear in his step.

A loud sigh left the werewolf's mouth, and thus began the negotiations between the two remaining Marauders.

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I apologize for the repost! A review brought to my attention called out a few mistakes that I wanted to augment a little bit.

Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review - the longer the better! And if you're really not enjoying it - please tell me without being super aggressive or mean ( :

Also, I want to address the fact that some people think this is going to be Drarry - I don't think it will be, I think I'm going to make everything one-sided. Everyone will love Harry but Harry won't love a lot of people.

Thanks again - please vote and comment!


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